Super Smash Brothers: The Battle for Nintendo
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: An old story I wrote long ago when I had the N64 game. When a mystery villain pulls the most popular Nintendo characters into a new dimension to take over Humanity, will the Allstars make it to the top of his tournament to save the realms? (complete!)
1. Prologue

Prologue

Star Fox 64

"Caiman, here! No problems." Caiman called over the com in his ship. Behind him and several other ships came the Star Fox team and Great Fox. They fired on them. "Do you copy? Emergency maneuvers!" Caiman called as the ships scattered.

"Too late!" Falco Lombardi sneered, "Game over, pal!" Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team, looked over his radar.

"Entering Venom air defense zone!" he called as he fired on several fighter ships that charged at him.

"Let's take 'em all out!" Falco called out. Fox grinned, he didn't have to worry about the ships too much. His Player was in tip-top condition today. Trigger-happy and quick to react, Player One had not failed a single mission since the beginning of the game.

"Atta boy." Fox murmured proudly. Perhaps today he would see the true ending to the game. Slippy checked his scans.

"Space mines ahead! Watch out!" he warned. Fox dodged the mines expertly and, suddenly, there was a flash of light in front of him.

"Huh?" he yelped and then everything went black....

Pokémon, Red Version

Pikachu slept in the Poké Ball, confident that he would see the Elite Four soon enough. Suddenly, he heard his name called. In a flash of light, he was released onto a battlefield, a pool of water with floating blocks and pads. The gym leader for this particular gym was Misty, the water trainer of Cerulean City. Pikachu hated being in the Poké Ball, but it couldn't be helped. The game demanded him to stay in the ball so he obeyed. Misty called up a Staryu to start the fight and as Pikachu prepared to fight, a brilliant flash of light erupted in front of him and there was only darkness....

Mario Kart

Coming onto the home-stretch, Donkey Kong dropped off the Mystery Box bomb behind him and accelerated. Just a little faster and he'd pass by Bowser. The giant ape blazed past on the final curve of the Rainbow Road racetrack. It was smooth driving from here on, as long as the Player didn't get too overzealous and make a mistake.

That's the problem with Players, some get too happy on the trigger and wipe out, like the one controlling Toad back on Lap One. DK was lucky, Player Two wasn't like that and he was ready to cross the finish line and claim the trophy. Why couldn't all Players be like the one controlling him? Donkey Kong sighed in bliss as the last straight-away neared its end. Just as he closed in on the finish line, a bright flash exploded in front of him and his last thought was the fact that he had missed the chance to win the race....

Super Mario 64

Mario dashed about crazily, scrambling to get enough stars to enter the next painting. His Player was panicking too easily. "Chomp! Chomp! Get me away from the Chomp!" Mario wailed as the giant ball of teeth snapped towards him. What was the Player thinking?! Was he trying to get a Game Over on purpose?! Princess Peach was trapped somewhere and the only way to rescue her was to defeat Bowser, and the only way to get to him was to collect two hundred stars.

The Player only found thirty.

"The Chomp! Get away from the Chomp! Why won't he listen to me?!" Mario yelled angrily as he was steered in circles around the thing. Just as the giant black ball loomed over him, a flash of white light erupted before him and Mario cried for help as the world went dark....

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Link dangled from the edge of the pillar and sighed unhappily. The day wasn't going well. First, his Player dragged him through the lava in the volcanic Death Mountain, ran him right into a firewall, then got stuck in a room in the Fire Temple. Navi floated above him and tsk-tsked him.

"Navi, please signal this guy and tell him that the Goron tunic makes me flame-proof, not immortal!!" Link yelled, "I'm down to four hearts! I started with ten! Make him save and quit before he kills me and gets another Game Over! I've gone through three of them already!" He climbed up and stood impatiently as his Player paused the game to check through the menu screens. "It's not like this is the most difficult game ever made in the series." Link griped as the Player chose to equip him with red potion.

"The Player is trying his very best, Link. It's probably his first Zelda game." Navi replied.

"Then tell him to buy a Player's Guide! I've had enough of falling off the mountain! It's not fun!" Link yelled, "If he can't figure this out then he shouldn't have gotten the game to begin with! He wants something easy, have him play _Link's Awakening_!" He drank the potion and then made another try at the distant door. He grabbed onto the ledge with his hands and climbed up.

"Finally! He made it!" Link declared joyfully. He walked over, unlocked the door and opened it, stepping right into a bright flash of light that made the whole world fall into darkness....

Super Metroid

"Die, you idiot!" Samus Aran shrieked as she fired several more times. The Dragon dodged and snapped its head forward to try to kill the woman clad in a computer suit of armor. She jumped away and fired more Orbs. The Dragon jerked back as it was hit. Samus' scans confirmed that three more hits would destroy the creature. "All this for an alien fetus." Samus grumbled in her high-tech gear as she aimed for the creature's head. Then there was a bright flash of light. With a cry, Samus fell back, unconscious as the light wrapped around her body....

Yoshi's Story

Little Yoshi ran along, slurping up fruit and avoiding the Shy Guys that chased him. The Player wasn't going for a high score, just trying to blaze through the levels as fast as possible. Rush, rush, rush, when will the Player learn that Nintendo always rigged their games with secrets and bonuses for the people who took the time to search them? Apparently not today as Little Yoshi slurped down yet another piece of fruit to finish the level. But this time, instead of being taken to the next page of the storybook game, Little Yoshi felt himself grow up at an amazing rate and then was dropped into a brilliant white light that made his mind spin faster until he blacked out....

Kirby's Super Star

Kirby watched the end of the game credits roll by and sighed happily. His Player had done well. After days of persistence and determination, he had finally beaten the game and seen the ending. All that was left now was to report back to Nintendo and see what they were planning for him. They were working on a new Kirby game for him and promised to make it a great one, with mini-games and replay value. He got up and turned to find the secret portal to take him to the home base when a brilliant flash of light swept him up and Kirby was lost in it....

-------------------------

"NO NO NO NO NO!" Link yelled angrily, stomping around on the grassy field and hitting the ground with the Master Sword. Mario woke up and looked around to find the other Nintendo characters starting to come around. Fox rubbed his head and groaned.

"Somebody tell the new Link to shut up." he griped, "The old one was quieter. I liked him better." Link went on slashing at the field, raging.

"I finally get the player to get me up to the third part of the temple and then I get zapped here! Not fair! Not fair! Not fair! Nintendo's not letting me have a chance!" Link went on and finally dropped to his knees, shaking. "Why won't they give me a chance?" Mario walked up to him and pat him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. You just need a little more time to get settled in. People aren't used to you yet. They're used to the Links from the old NES, Super NES and Game Boy games." the plumber told him.

"It's because I'm blonde, right? They liked the Links with the red-orange hair. They think I'm a ditz, running around as a kid and getting into all sorts of girl trouble." Link muttered, "I wish I could have talked longer with them, known what they did in the games to be so popular."

"Hey, it's okay. The old Links are great guys. GB Link'll be around for the Game Boy games and he's still going to train you for the Nintendo 64 and Project Dolphin." Donkey Kong pointed out reassuringly. Link looked up at them.

"Project Dolphin?" he echoed. Fox stretched and flexed his tail, dusting himself off as he stood up. Once he decided he was still battle-worthy, he gave DK a hard punch.

"Who said you could tell him about Dolphin?! He's not ready for it yet, you idiot!" he snapped at the ape, then turned to Link, "Nintendo's new project. Don't worry about it. They're also making a new game for you as soon as Ocarina of Time got through with its nominations in the Gamer's Choice awards." he clarified, "Something about masks and a new world... I didn't get it."

"You have lots of potential, Link. I mean, what's the Game Boy Link got that you ain't got?" Samus asked brightly as she checked over her gun.

"A short comic book series by Nintendo Power and a cartoon series that ran for a season or two." Link muttered. Pikachu brushed dust off of his arms.

"I think that was supposed to be a rhetorical question." Yoshi remarked sarcastically.

"So the Game Boy Link got a little more attention in areas other than games. Big deal. Name one thing you have that he doesn't have!" Kirby declared.

"A Player who doesn't know the difference between flame-resistant and 'shielded against everything Ganondorf throws at you'." Link replied sarcastically.

"Hey, who's the new guy?" DK asked, finally noticing Pikachu grooming his ear not too far from them. Everyone turned to look at the little electric mouse. Link furrowed his eyebrows, thinking.

"I know him. He was introduced to the Nintendo line-up earlier this year, right after me. His name's Pikachu, and he's a Pokémon." he said quietly.

"This rat is a Nintendo character?!" DK exclaimed and laughed as Pikachu looked up at them when he heard his name.

"Hey! Who are you callin' a rat, banana-breath?! I'm an electric mouse!" Pikachu yelled, "Just 'cause I'm a new guy don't mean you can push me around, not unless you want a shocking reaction!"

"Ooh, I'm scared. The little fuzzy thing is threatening me." DK taunted as Link stood back up, sheathed the sword, and thought harder.

"GB Link told me about him. Pikachu's games are almost exclusive to the Game Boy systems, but Nintendo's bringing him to another game that's on the N64." he muttered, "Now if I remember correctly, my Japanese is lousy, Pikachu means electric mouse and that means...."

"_PikaaaaCHU_!" Pikachu had enough of Donkey Kong's teasing and unleashed a Thunderbolt attack, electrocuting the giant ape. Mario and the other Nintendo characters watched in shock as DK fell back, jolted. Link snapped his fingers and grinned.

"That's right! He has the power to unleash large amounts of electricity whenever he wants! In fact, that ability is making Pikachu the most widely recognized mouse in the world!" he finished.

"Thanks for the warning, Link." DK grumbled as he sat up. Pikachu stood on his little feet and looked around.

"Okay. Where are we and why are we here?" he asked as Samus began to scan the area with her computer equipment.

"Looks like we're not in Nintendo territory anymore. This must be another realm and there doesn't seem to be any other game characters here except us." she told the group when she was done.

"Why the heck are we here anyway?!" Fox snapped after another minute of looking around. There was a sudden clap of thunder and the sky above darkened with stormy clouds. A voice boomed from above.

"Why, to be my loyal servants, of course!" someone replied. Fox clamped his ears down, the sound was too loud for him to handle. Link screamed in pain, crouching down and covering his ears, crying out something about Kokiri training.

"Servants?! I ain't serving you anything, Mr. Voice! The only thing I'm gonna be serving you is some white hot electric Thundershocks right up your....!" an enraged Pikachu began to shriek out.

"Ahem! I am the lord of the Realm of Neutrality. You all may call me Master Hand and each of you are keys to my brilliant master plan of global domination!" the voice interrupted, a little softer, as loud as rumbling thunder. Link looked up and tried to see who was talking. Thunder rumbling he could handle, booming voices only made his mind rip itself to shreds. "You see, each of you are popular in your own rights and that will help me very much." Master Hand went on, "Hundreds of people whom you call 'Players' focus on you when they play your games and they become engrossed in your tiny little worlds. With such a vast audience of people intent on keeping their minds on you, I could easily use you eight to take control of the people's minds and enslave their world! Then I, Master Hand, shall dominate the Realm of Neutrality and the Realm of Humanity!" The Nintendo characters grew angry by the unseen threat's words.

"You want us to help you use our games and influence for your evil little schemes?!" Mario yelled, "No way! We were created to bring people fun games to play! Something challenging and new!"

"I have brought the eight of you here to begin converting you to my control, but there is one of you who does not have the influence. One of you is the wrong character." Master Hand grumbled, "It isn't possible, but I have made an error. No matter, the rest of you shall do the job and the eighth can be used for something else." The group looked around at each other. One of them was not the real deal? Who was Master Hand talking about? Who was not a true Nintendo champion?

"We don't care what you did or didn't do right! Put us back in our games right now! Nintendo will not be happy if they find out we're missing! You're really gonna get it from them!" Kirby snapped in frustration.

"Yeah! No way are we gonna do what you tell us, so put us back in our rightful games! Now!" Pikachu demanded. Master Hand laughed at him.

"Ooh! I'm shaking! Alright then, I'll give you a sporting chance to win your freedom and spare your precious Players." he sneered. The ground suddenly began to shake and the characters fell to the ground. Link curled up and covered his head. Game Boy Link didn't train him for this kind of thing! A mountain rose up in the distance from the group of friends. The ground stopped quaking when the mountain was fully risen.

"I'm very fond of tournament style fighting and this is what you can do.... Make your way to the Tournament Mountain and begin battling at the bottom of it. I have already sent opponents there. Each of you will fight your own tournaments, alone, but there will be times when you will have a few of your friends to help you in a fight. If you make it past these battles, you come against me! Defeat me, and you will be set free. Lose, and you are mine forever!" Master Hand said.

"What if we don't want to fight your stupid opponents? What if we just head straight up to you?" Yoshi shot back as he got to his feet. Master Hand laughed, he still hadn't appeared to the group yet.

"Did I mention I also captured a few of your friends? If you don't go through the ladder, you will never see them again! Here, maybe you'll recognize these little items...." he said and four objects fell from the sky. A green hat, a red yo-yo, a blue bow and a helmet lay on the grass.

"Luigi!" Mario cried, recognizing the hat.

"Ness!" Fox yelped, seeing the yo-yo.

"Jigglypuff!" Pikachu cried out in shock at the bow.

"Captain Falcon!" Samus whispered when she saw the helmet. They collected the items as Master Hand laughed.

"I knew you would see things my way! So hurry along, little warriors, and I'll see you at the top of the ladder! Then again, maybe I won't.... Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" the evil voice jeered maniacally as the band of characters got up and raced for the mountain.


	2. Link VS Link

Chapter One

It took the group a few days of walking, but they finally reached the base of Tournament Mountain. Along the way, DK continued to pick on Pikachu, calling him all sorts of names and getting shocks in return. Sun had set when they reached the mountain and it was agreed that they would start the tournament in the morning. Mario started up a campfire with his Fireball attack and everyone picked a spot to sleep for the night. Pikachu sat far from the group, grumbling and muttering angrily. Watching him, Link got up and sat next to the mouse.

"Hi, I'm Link. Um, well, the new version at least. I was introduced to Nintendo a couple of months before you." he introduced himself. Pikachu gnawed at a piece of grass and glared at him.

"Yeah? What do you want? You gonna call me 'rookie' and 'newborn' like that oversized chimp?" he snapped. Link shook his head.

"Actually, I'm a rookie, too. I'm new to this whole thing." he replied, "The Game Boy Link, NES Link, and SNES Link have been around for ages. They have the popularity and the fame. I'm just trying to eke out a little recognition, but I don't think I'm catching on." Link sighed and looked away at the fire. "Maybe I should have my hair dyed red and change outfits to look like them. Then the N64 games would be more recognizable to the old Zelda players."

"Are you nuts?!" Pikachu exclaimed and jumped to his feet, "Don't listen to that bunch of baloney! The reason why you were made to look differently was because Nintendo wanted to bring a fresh new spin to a classic! And you were designed to add color and style, look fresh and young and new!" Link propped an elbow on his knee as he sat Indian-fashion and rested his cheek on his hand, sighing.

"But I don't feel fresh, young and new. I feel stupid, inexperienced and unknown. I have the name Link, but not the feel of it. Nobody feels that I'm Link. They look at me and say, 'Who is that? A Link wannabe? You're no Link! Get a life, Joker!'" he berated.

"Hey! Keep it down, Sunshine! We're trying to sleep!" DK yelled from near the campfire. Link sighed again.

"See?" he muttered, "The Link they respect is the old one, the guy with fire colored hair and the button-looking nose. Me? They stuck a 'Kick Me' sign on my back when I walked into the base computer the first day." He made a face. "Do you know how many times King Bowser Koopa and his little runts-for-kids kicked me around like a soccer ball? A lot! Then they used me for spitwad target practice." Link pulled off his hat and ruffled his hair, letting Pikachu take a closer look at the golden yellow strands. "See all this? My hair looked like a Q-tip head by the time they ran out of paper! It took ages for Game Boy Link to wash all that crud out and even then all that Koopa spit made my hair stiff and spiky and it stuck out everywhere! Somebody called me 'Super Sonic' when I went into the cafeteria!"

"You had it worse than me. At least I had my electricity to shock the geezers with. What about you?" Pikachu asked softly. Link shook his head and pulled the hat back on.

"Nothing. Nada. Zip. I was a kid! I didn't have weapons yet and I was still training!" he cried, "The words 'Fresh Meat' were practically stamped on my forehead!" Pikachu held out a hand to him. Link blinked down at him in surprise.

"You and me, we have to stick together, pal. We're the new guys and we have to show the Nintendo mascots that we have what it takes to be big, big, big!" Pikachu told him. Link grinned and shook his hand with his thumb and index finger.

"Thanks. You're a real Pika-pal. Maybe we'll wind up Allstars just like Mario and Donkey Kong." he said with a snicker. Pikachu laughed, then looked up at the mountain with a grim expression. Link followed his gaze with a determined look. "But to do that, we have to keep Master Hand from taking over our games. If we can beat him, Pikachu, you and I may finally earn some real respect!" he whispered.

"Yo, Blondie! Didn't I tell ya to shut up?! Go to sleep!" DK yelled again. Pikachu sniffed.

"How'd a monkey on Miracle-Gro wind up a Nintendo Allstar?" he muttered as Link stretched out and drifted off to sleep. Pikachu blinked at him, then curled up next to him, snuggling close to his chest to share warmth.

------------------

"Heeeyaaahh!" Link's voice startled everyone awake. Pikachu jumped up and his hair stood on end. The other characters jumped to their feet and looked around as Link's screams continued to sound out. Finally they turned to the mountain and gasped. There was Link! The group of Nintendo characters raced up to the mountain and paused at the edge of a ring that glowed around the entire mountain. Link was standing in it, lifted just above the ground with his arms pinned to his sides and his head craned back. A beam of light shone down on him and suddenly, Link vanished!

"Link! Link, come back!" Pikachu cried and looked down at the grass where Link had been standing before he was taken away. A strange symbol was burned onto the ground, three triangles joined together. "Huh? What's that?" he asked aloud.

"That's the Triforce symbol, the same symbol that's on Link's left hand. It shows he carries the Triforce of Courage in him." Mario replied, "But, what happened? Why did Link disappear?"

"This can't be good. We're supposed to go up the tournament together. That was our plan. Why did Link start without us?" Samus asked aloud. Pikachu turned on the group, angry.

"It's all that overgrown hairball's fault! He kept teasing us new guys and now Link's got it in his head to take on Master Hand all by himself to prove he can be just a good an Allstar as the Game Boy Link!" he snapped at them. "If he winds up a mindless slave to that Master Hand guy, I'm blaming all of you! He's my new friend!"

"How the heck do we get up the mountain? There's no terrain to grab onto. It's perfectly smooth." Fox replied and pointed out the fact that he was right. "Take a look. This mountain is a cone, a perfect cone. There's no way we can climb up it to rescue him."

"We have to find a way!" Pikachu yelled and began to shout up at the mountain. "Hey! Master Hand! You weren't supposed to kidnap my buddy! Link wasn't part of the deal! Give him back to us!" the mouse screamed out in a mix of rage and sorrow.

------------------

Link slowly opened his eyes, feeling groggy and disconnected. He lay on his stomach, his cheek resting on cold stone as he focused slowly on his hand, which rested right near his face. He groaned slightly.

"What happened? Where am I?" he whispered softly to himself. Link got to his knees and shook his head to clear his mind, looking around in shock. "This place! It looks like Hyrule Castle!" he exclaimed.

"First battle! Link versus Link!" a voice declared and a giant scoreboard appeared over the castle. One side had a picture of Link in his green tunic. The other side had an exact same picture. Beneath both pictures were 0% signs. Link was startled and stepped back.

"What?! Me against me? What are they talking about?!" he cried as a beam of light shone down onto the stone arena and an exact duplicate of Link dropped down, unsheathing his sword. "Hey! That's me! What kind of a tournament is this?! They make us fight ourselves?!" The clone Link charged at him, sword ready to slash at him. Link cried in shock and leaped over him to get away. The clone slashed upwards with an Air Swipe, hitting Link and knocking him aside. Link cried in pain and scrambled to get away. The clone raced after him, slashing continuously with many of the moves Link himself came up with to use against Ganon's evil minions in the game he had been stolen from. The damage meter went higher, up to forty percent. Link kicked out and threw off the clone.

"Okay! I don't know what sick, twisted joke is being played on me, but if that's the way you're gonna play, then I'll make sure you pay!" he yelled and fought back, slashing at the clone and building up his damage. Something fell from the sky behind the duplicate. Link reached behind him, felt the hookshot and pulled it out. He fired it at the clone and it latched onto the copy's clothes, pulling him towards Link. With a yell of rage, Link pulled the look-alike close, twisted him around and kicked him towards the back, throwing him off of the ledge of the castle. The clone's damage meter was at fifty-five percent.

Link raced forward and grabbed what looked like a small, pink and white capsule. He turned and threw the capsule at the clone, who had leaped up to attack him. The capsule exploded on contact, throwing the duplicate backwards and into a cyclone that suddenly popped up on the scene.

He took the time to check the scoreboard. His clone had eighty points of damage now while he still had forty. Link checked his equipment and found himself still equipped with the hookshot, bombs, the boomerang he used as a kid, his shield and the Master Sword's sheath. Everything else had been taken from him. He looked back in time to see the tornado rush towards him and suck him in. Link shrieked as it spun him around and around.

"Let me out of this thing!" Link wailed as it finally spit him up high into the air and added more damage points to his score. Link tumbled through the air and the clone leaped up to give him a hard kick that sent him flying across the stage. He landed on his back and lay still, exhausted, pained, and barely able to move. The clone dropped down beside him and stood over him, lifting his sword up to finish Link off. Link stared up at him, terrified. Was this how he was going to die? Killed off by some copy?

"I just wanted to be an Allstar...." Link whispered and closed his eyes, wishing someone else was in his place. Something dropped down from the sky above him. Link blinked and looked to his side. A small gray object lay on the stone. He grabbed it, threw it at the clone so it latched onto the front of his tunic and rolled away quickly. The clone looked down at the object on his chest.

"On second thought, I won't go down so easily! I'll prove to everyone I can be an Allstar!" Link yelled and threw the boomerang at the gray object. The object exploded and the clone Link was hurled off the platform and into an invisible force field just beyond the castle's area with one hundred and twenty points of damage.... and without his head. Link blinked at the vanished clone and waited for the smoke to clear. The black smoke dissipated and revealed the clone's head lying on the floor. Link screamed and scooted backwards, backing up against the wall of the main castle ledge.

After a few minutes of shaking and screaming, Link calmed down enough to crawl forward and examine it. Hesitating a few moments, Link reached out and picked up the disembodied head. It still had its emotionless eyes open. Link shuddered, it had the exact same royal blue color.

"What is this?" he murmured and lifted the head up a little. Sparks flew from the neck and Link grew suspicious of the head. "There's something fishy going on here." he grumbled and grabbed onto the head's cheek. He pulled hard and tore the flesh off and gasped. Underneath the cream-colored covering was a metal head, mechanical with gears and computer bits. "It's a robot? An android?" Link whispered and played with the parts on the head. The mouth moved and the eyes rolled around. "This thing's kind of funky looking." he muttered and shrieked when the head began to speak. He dropped it and stared as it repeated his words. "What the-?" Link muttered and picked the head up again.

_"Android. Android. Android."_ the head rattled off in an imitation of Link's voice, _"Master Hand's plan consists of androids replacing the Nintendo characters and returning the androids to the games. Once the androids are in place, they will spread a virus throughout the Realm of Humanity, possessing everyone who comes in contact with the games. The true Nintendo characters will then be enslaved here in the Realm of Neutrality."_ Link gasped and scowled at the head.

"So that's the creep's plan. And the Nintendo character that was a mistake? What happens to that one?" Link asked the robotic head.

_"The Nintendo character that does not belong with the group of eight will either be destroyed once its identity is found, or possessed by Master Hand himself, depending on if the character has a potential for use elsewhere."_ the robot head replied.

"Breach in security! Deploy the Polygons!" the announcer suddenly shouted and a group of strange, purple-metallic creatures dropped down from the sky and grabbed Link.

"Hey! Get away from me, you metal freaks!" the elf yelled angrily as the robot head was taken away and thrown against the force field to be destroyed. Link was held down as the Polygons attacked him, punching, kicking and beating him to unconsciousness.

"This character began the tournament too soon! Throw him out, keep him on this level, and make sure he doesn't tell his friends outside what he has learned!" the announcer raged as the Polygons dragged him out of the Hyrule Castle stage and out onto Tournament Mountain.

-----------------

"Shooting it isn't going to bring Link back." Mario remarked as Fox and Samus continued their barrage of gunfire on the cone. Pikachu watched them, hoping they would be able to strike a door to take them up to another level. The two stopped and sighed.

"That thing's taken a lot of blaster power. Not a scratch." Fox grumbled, "This mountain is not a normal mountain. How the heck did Link get up into it?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it had something to do with that ring...." Samus started to say when the mountain began to shake. Up above them another Triforce symbol appeared on the wall of the cone. The group looked up at it and watched as a square of mountain containing the symbol turned around and revealed Link chained to the wall, bruised and beaten. A ring of rock spread out from underneath him, cutting off the group's view of Link.

"Hey! Hey, my pal's up there! What happened to him?!" Pikachu shrieked, "What did that Master Whatchamacallit do to my buddy?! Link! Link, can you hear me?! Are you okay?! What happened?!"

"He can't hear us. Or he can't answer us." Yoshi muttered, "We'll find out what happened to him once we go up to his level. What were you saying about the ring, Samus?"

"Link must have stepped onto it and it carried him into the mountain. The symbol left behind is the stamp that identifies who we are, so whenever we find a door or whatever with a matching stamp, that means it's something for us." she replied.

"Oh, so that means the chains on the wall were meant for Link to wear so he can dangle there like a Christmas ornament?!" Pikachu snapped, "Forget the talk! I want to fight that Master Hand thingy and save my buddy!"

"We won't reach his level until we fight the first round of opponents. Now, on the count of three, we'll all jump into the ring. Ready? One...." Samus remarked and began the countdown. The Nintendo characters all prepared to jump. "Two...." Pikachu had a few sparks fly from his cheeks, angry by what had happened to his new friend. "Three! Jump!" Samus cried and the group all leaped into the glowing ring at the same time, transporting into the mountain for their first challenge.


	3. Pikachu VS Link

Chapter Two

The Poké Ball erupted onto the stone castle and Pikachu leaped out, ready for battle. On the opposite side, Link touched down from a beam of light and stood, waiting. Pikachu saw him and froze, shocked.

"Link? But... but I thought you were outside. Why are you here? Are we going to fight the enemy together?" he whispered.

"First battle for Pikachu! Pikachu versus Link! Three, two, one... GO!" the announcer shouted. Link raced forward, whipping out his sword and brandishing it before him. Pikachu cried out in surprise and jumped out of the way. Link slashed skyward, but Pikachu used a Zap Jump to escape it. He landed on a ledge and caught his breath.

"Link?! Why are you fighting against me?!" he yelled, "I thought we were friends!" Link smiled and leaped towards him, ready to slash again.

"I serve Master Hand! I have no loyalties to you or anyone else!" he laughed and stabbed right where Pikachu would have been if he hadn't jumped back and away. The mouse landed with an angry cry.

"'Loyal to Master Hand'?! Link, what's gotten into you?! You're a Nintendo character! You're one of us!" he yelled and dodged another hit. Link continued to chase and slash, laughing cruelly.

"Simple-minded rat! You will all become the slaves of the great and powerful Master Hand!" he shouted and hurled the boomerang at Pikachu. The mouse was hit and knocked back. Some damage points were added onto his meter up on the Hyrule Castle scoreboard, beneath the picture of Pikachu. The mouse got to his feet and used a Zap Jump to escape another attack. He landed on another ledge and growled at his opponent.

"I really thought we could be friends, Link. But if you're gonna turn traitor on me, then I'm taking you down! SNES Link can take your place just fine!" Pikachu yelled and fired an Electric Attack, zapping Link. While he was stunned, Pikachu jumped down and fought furiously with kicks and headbutts. Link put up a strange, red bubble that acted like a shield against Pikachu's attacks and rolled away, attacking the mouse from behind. The damage meters on the scoreboard went higher and higher as the two fought.

A tornado appeared on the stage and raced across the stone. Pikachu noticed it, grabbed Link by the collar and threw him into it. The tornado spun him around, causing damage, while Pikachu ran for a small black object that fell from the sky. He pulled up to it and sniffed at it.

"What's this stupid thing?" he wondered and picked it up. He turned it around and stared in confusion at the little pair of eyes that blinked back at him. "Oh, wait a sec. Mario said that these things are Bob-ombs. Hey! We can use Nintendo stuff here?! Cool!" Pikachu hopped around and glared at Link, who was still being tossed about in the whirlwind. "Take this, you back-stabbing blonde brat!" he snapped and twisted the little key on the Bob-omb before he hurled the tiny bomb into the tornado. It exploded in a huge cloud of fire and debris. Link shrieked in a fury as he was thrown off the stage and slammed into the force field. There was a bright flash of white and then, nothing. Pikachu stared at the wall, horrified. What had he done?!

"Link defeated!" the announcer declared, "The battle goes to Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon sniffed and walked to the exit portal, which appeared in the center of the stage.

"I can't believe Link would turn on me. And I only wanted to take him down, not kill him. Link, Link, why did you do this? I thought you were in trouble. Was this all a trick?" he whimpered and exited the stage.

---------------

Pikachu stepped out of a door and onto the ledge that had appeared earlier. The door behind him was shut and then sealed. Curious, he looked around, then began to walk around the mountain and see if anyone else was there. Soon, he began to hear voices.

"Wake up! Wake up, Link!" Samus cried. Pikachu perked his ears up in shock and raced ahead. Turning the bend, he found Samus and Mario both trying to wake up a still bruised Link.

"Link?! But I thought I killed him!" Pikachu cried as he ran up to him.

"So did I!" Samus remarked, wrapping another bandage around Link's arm. Link groaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the bounty hunter groggily.

"What's going on?" he mumbled, sitting up and looking out at the group dazedly.

"I thought the same thing, until I came out of the arena and found Link there on the wall." Mario added, "As soon as I touched the iron bands, they disappeared. Link almost fell over the edge but I caught him in time." Samus scooted behind Link and pulled him back to rest against her armor. One by one, the other Nintendo characters began to show up. DK was grinning proudly, until he saw Link.

"Hey! I thought I beat the stuffing out of Old Sunshine! What's up?!" he yelled. Pikachu turned on him and gave him a jolt.

"'Sunshine'?! I told you, his name is Link! Now, shut up and stick your foot in your mouth or do whatever idiot banana-brains do to kill time!" Pikachu shrieked and turned back to watch Link, who had closed his eyes again with a moan and looked like he wasn't fully conscious. Fox limped up and leaned against the wall of the mountain.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting a little tired of this tournament thing." he grumbled.

"What happened to you?" Yoshi asked and Fox grinned painfully.

"Link packs a mean swipe with that sword for a rookie. He got me good, but I ate some kind of tomato and it healed me right up. Then I threw the dorkster into a tornado and the lousy thing threw him clean into the sky!" he laughed.

"Hey! That tomato's mine!" Kirby yelled and got into an argument with Fox while Yoshi began to ponder the situation.

"So, each of us got into a fight against Link?" he asked aloud. "But that's impossible. Link was out here the whole time. If Link was out here, then who were we really fighting in the first match? Who are we really going against?"

"Copies." Link replied weakly and everyone turned to him. Link cringed slightly, eyes still closed, then went on. "We're fighting copies of ourselves. It's Master Hand's sick little game." Samus pat his head a little.

"Shh. Quiet, Link. You need to save your strength. Rest now." she told him. Link struggled slightly.

"We're fighting clones, duplicates. They're just like us. They have our attacks, our weapons, our voices and looks. It's to throw us off." he murmured and cried in pain. Samus rapped the top of his head with her knuckles.

"That's enough, Link! Everyone! Set up camp! We'll need to rest and recover before we can go to the next level." she ordered as the ledge shuddered and lifted up to a row of doors. The ledge got wider and everyone looked around, startled. "Looks like this is the next level. Don't go in the doors! Set up camp!" Samus barked out. The characters jumped and began to set up a small campfire. As the sun began to set, they had a fire crackling, dinner being cooked and a bed for Link to lie on while he recovered.

"Why do I have to be the mattress?" DK complained as he lay sprawled on his stomach. Samus picked Link up and scowled at DK.

"Either you do it like this, or I skin you and use that for his bed while you become dinner. Would you like that instead, Mr. Allstar?" she snapped. DK grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, no thanks. I'll pass." he replied.

"Then hold still and don't you dare do anything to Link while he's in this condition!" the bounty hunter barked and carefully put Link down on DK's back. The ape grumbled and rested his head on his arms, waiting for dinner. Pikachu hopped up and sat next to his friend.

"Link? Buddy? It was weird fighting that copy of you. It looked like you, it sounded like you, but there was something weirder about it." he told the elf and held out a strand of something thin and shiny. Link opened his eyes and turned to see him.

"What is it?" he whispered and Pikachu gave him the strand. He fingered it and studied it as the mouse stepped back in order to let Fox walk up with a bowl and a spoon.

"It was left over from that Link copy. I don't know what it is, though. I thought you might know." Pikachu replied. Link put the strand away as Fox helped him sit up and held out the bowl.

"Here. It's some of my special soup. Don't ask what's in it, I'm not sure myself, but it does restore energy and strength. Everyone else is eating and it's making them feel better." he told the hero.

"Thanks." Link muttered and took the bowl, "Um, Fox. I have to tell you something. Those copies... they're not real." He thought back to the head in his hands and shivered. "They're something worse. Things aren't what they seem. There's more at stake." Fox gave him a strange look.

"Hey, Link. The guys that beat you up... they didn't, like, do anything funky to you or anything, did they?" he asked, suspicious. Link scowled and turned away. "Fine, be that way. Lousy punk." Fox grumbled and began to walk back to the fire.

"What about my dinner?!" DK wailed. Fox shoved a banana into his mouth, plugging it.

"Here! Now shut up and be a good mattress, monkey boy, or I'll shove your supper up the wrong hole!" he snapped back and stormed away. Pikachu snickered at the ape and turned back to Link, who had begun eating the soup slowly.

"What did you mean by that? 'Things aren't what they seem.' Is there something about the clones that you know is wrong?" the mouse asked, "What is it? What's the deal with them?" Link winced and sipped at his spoon again.

"I can't tell you." he murmured and lifted the bowl to his mouth. Pikachu blinked.

"Can't tell us? Why not?" he asked as Link went on drinking from the bowl. "You know something, but you won't tell us what it is. Why? Is it because the guys who beat you up told you not to tell us? Come on, Link! They're pushovers! We can take 'em! Tell us what's the deal!"

"I can't, okay? Just... forget it. It's nothing. We'll beat the clones and go home and have everything go the way it was." Link muttered, staring down into the brownish liquid that was his soup.

"What? And have Donkey Brains call you 'Sunshine' and 'Blondie' for the rest of your game career? What happened to you wanting to be an Allstar?!" Pikachu exclaimed in shock.

"You can't make an Allstar out of a character who's a mistake." Link muttered and put the bowl down so he could lie back down and get some rest. Pikachu watched him, then, frowning, jumped down to join the other warriors.

"Yeah! Banana!" DK cheered as he pulled the fruit out of his mouth and began to peel it to eat.

As night descended on the group and the Nintendo fighters slept peacefully, Link tossed and turned restlessly. In his mind, pieces of a puzzle floated around in his head, waiting to be pulled together to be formed into a plan. Fox was curled up in a ball near the coals, Pikachu did the same. Mario used Yoshi's dozing form as a pillow, Kirby lay on his back and slept soundly. Samus was sleeping with her back against the mountain and DK was out like a rock. Link sat up, unable to sleep, and got down off of the ape. He winced slightly, his left arm was still a little sore. Digging around in his pocket, he pulled out the strand Pikachu had given him and studied it. The strand did look odd. It started as one color, then suddenly turned into another color halfway across the strand."It looks familiar. Where have I seen those colors before?" Link muttered and put the strand away as he walked around the mountain. There were doors all around and each one had two symbols above it. One had a Poké Ball shape and an egg, another had DK's initials and an egg, a third had two eggs. "What's up with the pictures?" Link muttered until he came to a door with the Triforce symbol and an egg.

"This one..." he whispered and pulled off his gauntlet, holding his left hand up to the door so he could place the Triforce symbol on his hand directly over the symbol above the doorway, "...belongs to me. My next challenge is in here." Link whispered and frowned, "But who has an egg for a symbol?" Unable to figure it out, he headed back to camp and tried to get some sleep.

-----------------

An earthquake, or something similar, startled Link awake and before he could do anything, he found himself dumped onto his stomach and then crushed by a huge weight. He struggled fiercely, feeling suddenly very claustrophobic, and let out a scream.

"What the-?! DONKEY KONG!!! GET YOUR BIG, FAT, SMELLY, DISGUSTING BUTT OFF OF MY PAL!!!" Pikachu shrieked and unleashed a load of electricity on the thing crushing Link. DK squealed and rolled over to get away. Link lay flattened as the other fighters ran up to see if he was okay. "Link! Link! Buddy! Palsy! Speak to me!" Pikachu pleaded as Samus pried him up and turned him over.

"I'm going to have nightmares about this for a very long time." Link slurred as Fox brought up another bowl of special soup. He spoon fed Link half a bowl before the elfin hero regained his senses and sat up. "Okay, I'm fine now. Can we get started?" he griped and got to his feet. The other characters looked a bit startled, but got up to survey their new challenges anyway. They walked around the mountain and spotted the first door.

"A Poké Ball, huh? Must be my door." Pikachu muttered and walked up to it. He knocked on the door and growled, "Little pig, little pig, let me in. Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll use Thunderbolt on your house and make your electric bills go crazy!" Link laughed brightly and Pikachu smiled up at him as the door opened to let him in. "That's better! It's good to hear you laugh, Link. Take care! I'll be back in no time!" he remarked and walked into the room. The door shut behind him.

The remaining fighters went on until they found the second door. DK flexed his muscles, grinned at Link and tapped on the door. Link snorted, unimpressed. The ape made a face at him and disappeared into the door.

"Here, little chick, chick, chick! Come and get your medicine! Ha, ha!" the ape called out as the door slammed shut. The group pressed on and came to a third door. Yoshi studied the eggs and nodded grimly.

"Looks like I'll be up against my clone." he muttered and knocked on the door. Fox turned to Link.

"Don't you have anything to tell us about what we're facing?!" he asked, "You were the first to enter the tournament! You were beaten up for a reason! What did you find out that Master Hand is trying to keep you from telling us?!" Link turned his face away.

"I can't tell you. Not until I'm sure of it. It's just a wild guess, but he has a bigger plan than what he told us." he murmured and frowned in thought, "One of us is a mistake. Which of us is not supposed to be here?"

"I'll take out that other Yoshi in record time! Just watch me!" Yoshi declared and strode into his room. The door came down behind him. The next door the Nintendo fighters came across had the Triforce. Link glared at the door for a few moments.

"There's something more to this. I know it." he muttered and put his hand up to the door. It opened without him touching it and he walked in, the door closing behind him. Samus looked worried as the group pressed on to the next door. The fifth door had a star and an egg.

"Mine! That's my symbol! I know it because my world is shaped like a great big star!" Kirby cheered and ran up to the door. He bumped it with his head and skipped along inside cheerfully when it opened. "Yummy! Eggs!" he giggled.


	4. Kirby VS Yoshi Team

Chapter Three

A star hit the giant open book that was the Yoshi Team's arena and dropped off the little pink puffball. Three ledges were above him and there was a cloud on each side of the arena. Kirby looked around. This was the fake Yoshi's arena?

"Second battle for Kirby! Kirby versus Yoshi Team!" the announcer yelled out, "Three...!" A blue Yoshi dropped onto a ledge. Kirby turned to face it. "Two...!" A pink Yoshi dropped next onto the second ledge. Kirby turned to face it, too, shocked. More than one opponent at a time?! "One!" A yellow Yoshi dropped onto the highest ledge. "Go!" The three Yoshis began to walk around aimlessly.

"I have to fight three at once?! Not fair!" Kirby yelled and jumped up, giving the blue dino a hard kick. It flew into the force field and vanished. "Hey! They're not so tough! I can take 'em!" Kirby laughed and kicked the pink Yoshi away. A green Yoshi dropped down next, followed by a red one as Kirby dealt a nasty Pinwheel attack to the yellow Yoshi. One by one, the Yoshis dropped into the arena, some managing to get hits in, but Kirby knocked them away easily.

"Here! Take this!" Kirby yelled and used a Final Cutter attack, slamming two dinos at once with the sword blade that came from nowhere. An item fell, a crate. Kirby picked it up and dropped it onto a blue Yoshi's head, watching it get thrown out of the field. The crate left behind a beam saber. He jumped down to get it as one Yoshi grabbed a bumper and hurled it at him. Kirby was thrown off the book and landed on the cloud.

"Don't underestimate the power of a team! We're the Yoshi Team and we're gonna make you into Master Hand's slave!" three of the dinos yelled together as one. They sounded as if they were taught to say the words in the exact same way, in the exact same moment. "Give it up, Kirby! You're nothing compared to our combined might!"

Angered, Kirby began to swallow air and jumped, floating back to the main area of the stage. He positioned himself above the Yoshi that hit him and pulled a Rock Drop, slamming straight down on top of the Yoshi and hurling it away.

"Think again! I'm not giving in! I'll beat out this stupid Master Hand thing so we can finally go home!" he yelled and breathed hard as he dodged another Yoshi attack. Another Yoshi dropped onto the field and a tiring Kirby began to whack at them with the sword. Two of them hurled eggs at his back and he turned to throw the sword at them. He managed to knock out one Yoshi, but the other escaped.

"How many of these things are out there anyway?!" Kirby raged and knocked one Yoshi off the book. The Yoshi jumped in midair and kicked at the air, straining to bring himself back to the ledges. He fluttered and landed safely as the puffy creature jumped in front of another Yoshi and inhaled it. With a swallow, Kirby copied the Yoshi and spit it back out. A Yoshi cap appeared on his head.

"Oh no! Now he has my power!" the Yoshi wailed and tried to run away.

"All right! Let's see what power I have now!" Kirby cried and hurled an egg bomb at the Yoshi he had spit out. The dino was blasted out of the field as the Yoshi left behind came down on him, using a Bicycle Kick to cause major damage to Kirby. Kirby jumped to another ledge and looked at the floating scoreboard that boasted his picture and the pictures of the Yoshi Team. Nearly all of the pictures had gone black, except for three.

"We're gonna get you!" the two last Yoshis declared as they dropped into the arena to join the third, "You can't win! Give it up, Kirby, and perhaps we'll spare your life if we find you're the wrong character!"

"You three dino-dorks sound like a bunch of robots! Come and get me if you can!" Kirby snapped back and fired a barrage of eggs at them, knocking two Yoshis out of the arena. A tomato dropped into the field. Kirby spotted it, smiled joyfully and flew his way to the ledge that had it. The Yoshi ran after it.

"Oh, no, you don't! Come here!" he yelled as Kirby ate the fruit and was healed. The Yoshi grabbed Kirby and stuffed him into his mouth. Then, he turned and fired him out of his mouth like a shot. Kirby tumbled through the air, righted himself and landed on the lower edge of the book.

"You dare to swallow _me_?! You have no idea who you're messing with, scrambled egghead!" Kirby snapped and got rid of the Yoshi hat, thus getting rid of the Yoshi power. With a leap, Kirby came at the last Yoshi and gave him a hard midair kick. The final Yoshi slammed into the force field and vanished.

"Yoshi Team defeated! The battle goes to Kirby!" the announcer declared, "Hostage being released!" Kirby blinked at those words and jumped when a huge metal box dropped out of the sky and landed on the ledge. Kirby stepped up to it and knocked on the box.

"Who's there?!" a gruff voice barked.

"It's Kirby!" Kirby replied.

"Kirby who?" the voice shot back.

"Kirby The-Guy-Who-Just-Saved-Your-Butt-And-Didn't-Even-Get-A-Decent-Thank-You." Kirby replied angrily.

"Never heard of ya! Now, stand back! I am about to break down this puny door with my mighty strength!" the voice yelled and a loud clang was heard, followed by a grunt and a whining sound. Kirby leaned back against the box, his hands behind his head, whistling. Another clang, another grunt, more whining.

"You done yet?" Kirby asked casually.

"Uh, yeah. That's all I have." a voice squeaked. Kirby nodded and walked around to the front of the box. It had a small barred window, and a handle. Kirby reached up, turned the handle and opened the door, letting a tall, dark stranger walk out, holding his shoulder and looking slightly humbled.

"Ready to go, dude?" Kirby asked. The man nodded, black hair flopping over his eyes. Kirby looked him over. "Captain Falcon, I presume." he remarked. The man nodded again. "Word of advice, pal. Next time you try to break down a metal door, use the shoulder with the armor pad on it." Kirby pointed out with a smug grin and trooped off to the exit portal behind him with Captain Falcon grumbling under his breath as he followed.

-----------------------

Kirby stepped outside and found the other Nintendo characters huddled together and growling. They had also found out about the team attacking and were not pleased. Captain Falcon rushed out and among them.

"Samus!" he cried out in joy.

"Captain Falcon!" the bounty hunter replied just as joyfully, "Put your helmet back on! You look like an idiot!"

"Yes, dear." the racer mumbled as he took the helmet from Samus and put it on. Kirby joined the group as they cheered over the rescue of their missing friend.

"He's back! He's back! Kirby! You saved Captain Falcon!" they cheered and whooped. Kirby grinned proudly and looked to the only door that had not yet opened, Link's challenge room.

"So... what's with Link? Does he always take this long to finish a fight?" he asked and the group turned their attentions on the door again.

"We were wondering the same thing." Fox replied in a low voice. Just then, the door slid open and Link dropped out, falling face forward onto the rocky ledge. Pikachu ran to him and started yapping into his ear. The elfin warrior struggled to get up and succeeded in being on all fours.

"Who gave permission for the enemy to be in a group?" he whispered coldly. The fighters all shrugged. "I'm starting to hate being here more than I hate being different." Link grumbled and staggered to his feet. He brushed himself off and glared at the surrounding characters. "Did you guys get beat up, too?" he asked.

"Mario got flattened a couple of times. Samus said she got stuck inside an egg." Yoshi replied, "Oh, and Kirby rescued Captain Falcon."

"Hip, hip, hooray." Link grumbled as the ledge lifted up to the next level. The characters agreed to camp again, rest, then try the new challenge the next day. Link sat away from the group, studying the strand of bi-colored thread and frowning. The remaining fighters decided to leave him and Pikachu to themselves and figure out another plan of attack.

----------------

High atop Tournament Mountain, Master Hand waited for the first contestant to challenge him. A Polygon ran up to him and bowed, muttering something to him. Master Hand clenched into a fist.

"Are you sure?" he demanded of the creature. It nodded its head fearfully.

_"Affirmative! The reports show that one of the hostages has been discovered and freed."_ it answered, _"And the identity of the incorrect character is still a mystery."_

"Go. Prepare for battle. I must wait and watch. The rouge will make himself or herself known. And when I find out who it is I will CRUSH them!" Master Hand fumed.

-------------------

Night fell and, over a light supper of soup and rations, the Nintendo Allstars Mario and Donkey Kong explained exactly what it took to become an Allstar.

"He's gotta be smart!" Mario declared to the group, who listened attentively. DK flexed an arm.

"He's gotta be strong!" he put in, grinning at his huge muscle as he flexed.

"He's gotta have courage." Mario added, giving DK a disapproving look.

"He's gotta face impossible odds and still manage to overcome them!" the ape tossed in helpfully.

"An Allstar never gives in, not even when he's down to his last Fire Flower!" Mario declared.

"Or his last Crystal Coconut!" DK put in. The characters nodded and listened carefully. Even Pikachu was all ears, hoping to get the title Allstar added to him. Link wasn't paying much attention, still staring at the strand in his fingers.

"It starts off reddish, then all of a sudden, it turns golden. What is it? Why is it like that?" he muttered to himself.

"A true Allstar is humble and modest." Mario lectured, "He'll find other forms of work when his current duty isn't in demand at the moment."

"An Allstar knows when to turn to friends for help." DK told the group.

"He's gotta do the best he can with what he's been given or found." Mario said brightly, "Princess Peach is an Allstar because she's a real tough gal who never gives up and always trusts in her dreams of peace and victory over evil!"

"An Allstar's motto is, 'A slim chance is still a chance!'" DK and Mario both said together and cheered. The other fighters clapped and whistled, cheering for the mascots of Nintendo. Link glanced up at them, then went back to studying the strand, almost sure that he could figure out how to trick Master Hand using the being's own rules against him. If only he had a clue to put the puzzle pieces in his head together!

He looked over his shoulder at the door behind him. An egg and a winged fox. Link had seen that winged fox somewhere before, then blinked in surprise as he remembered. He had seen it stamped on the outside of Fox's Arwing when he was shoved in a locker in the home base's docking bay for the Star Fox equipment by a bunch of Shy Guys as a kid. It had taken three hours for Fox to finally discover him in the locker. By then, Trainee Link was suffering from heat exhaustion and was withheld from continuing training until he recovered. The Shy Guys were punished but it wasn't enough to ease GB Link's fury.

"We're against Fox robots next." Link muttered and studied the strand again. It hit him then as he thought about GB Link. The old Links had reddish-orange hair! The strand started as that color, but then it changed to gold. Link reached up and plucked a strand of his own hair and compared it to the strand Pikachu gave him. Same golden color. Pikachu had given him a strand of hair from the robot copy of Link. "So my copy had red hair, then suddenly switched to blonde. Why?" Link muttered and put the strands away when he heard his name called.

"Link, weren't you even paying attention to the Allstars?" Pikachu asked with a frown, "You said you wanted to be an Allstar and here they were telling us how to do it and you're sitting here talking to your thumbs. Smart move, Link." Link forced a smile.

"Oh, sorry about that, Pikachu. Maybe you can tell me what they said later. I was just thinking about a little puzzle. It kind of got a new twist to it." he replied mysteriously. Pikachu gave him a look.

"Well, okay. But you gotta stop zoning out on me, buddy. People are gonna think you're stoned or something. You'll lose your 'E' rating." the Pokémon warned him.

"Rated 'E', rated 'A'.... what's the difference? The Players still won't like me. I'll bet that Player was trying to kill me on purpose." Link mumbled, looking down at his boots and hugging his knees. Pikachu jumped onto his back and perched on his shoulder.

"There's a big difference, Link! Nintendo has never made a rated 'A' game and it's not gonna start now, especially with yours." he growled. Link blinked at him.

"Mine? What are you talking about?" he asked and Pikachu tugged on his ear.

"Geez, Link, are you some kind of airhead?! Don't you even look in your own website?! The Legend of Zelda web site has practically exploded with new fans! Some of them are Ocarina of Time Players! They've spun off into their own sites with fan fiction and fan art!" he told him in a hushed tone, "And when I say rated 'A', I mean some of those fans have the idea that you and Zelda could make _the_ hottest item since they tried pairing Mario and Princess Toadstool only to find her one of those string-'em-along types. You don't even wanna read what some of them dream of having you and her do together. We're talking _Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Love-Machine Link_, here!" Link turned a bright red and stuck his fingers into his ears, shutting his eyes tight.

"Aw no! Why'dya go and tell me that for?! Now I'll never look at her without thinking that in my head! 'Love-Machine'?! I'm just a kid!" he wailed as Pikachu smirked and tugged at one finger to pull it out of his ear.

"Yeah, but half of those Players refuse to let you stick the Master Sword back and just spend hours staring at you in close ups on the screen." he teased and Link wailed louder.

"Hey! Shut up over there! I'm tryin' to sleep!" DK yelled, "Sunshine! Ain't ya got a mute button or something?! Turn down the volume!"

"Hey! You shut up, Dimwit Kong! You're not helping! Can't ya see I'm having a man-to-man talk with Link?!" Pikachu yelled back.

"Ya mean mouse-to-mouse! That wimp couldn't handle being a real man if he were actually _awake_ to go through puberty!" the ape called back and laughed.

"Will you all just pipe down?!" Fox's voice sailed out and both Pikachu and DK turned their attention on him for a while before growing bored and ending the fight. Pikachu pat Link's shoulder and jumped down to find a good spot to sleep.

"Ah, forget it. Game Boy Link's had his share of problems, too. He just wants to be sure you're doing good with your identity before he lets you take a peek at what's up on the Net." the mouse told him and curled up. Link stared at him, then out at the starlit sky.

"I should have been a redhead with a button nose. I hope Zelda never finds out about those web sites. She might get some ideas for how to act back at home base. And I'll just bet a thousand rupees that they won't be rated 'E'." he sighed unhappily and settled down to sleep.


	5. Yoshi VS Fox, Breakin Stuff is Cool!

A/N: Now like I said, this is a rather old story. It's complete but it takes time for me to chop up the chapters for uploading, mostly because I tweak the dialogue a little here and there. I didn't have the greatest vocabulary back when I wrote this, so I update words when I find an outdated phrase. Aside from those changes, what you are reading is original to the story back in the mid 90's. Back then, I did as much research as I could to keep things cohesive and accurate. Projects Dolphin and Atlantis were two names that I managed to uncover from my early, feeble attempts to stay in the know. Everyone knows them now as GameCube and Game Boy Advance. nn

-------------------------------------------------

Chapter Four

Breakfast was light, no one wanted to feel heavy and full before a fight and, as Link described so vividly, no one wanted to throw up if they got punched hard enough in the gut. The group walked around the mountain, dropping characters off at the appropriate doors. Link paced before going in his room.

"First red, then gold. Why was it red if they knew I was blonde?" he had muttered, then went in before anyone could ask him what he was talking about. Soon, only Captain Falcon and Yoshi were left. They stood before the door with the egg symbol.

"Stand aside, little dino. I, the great Captain Falcon, shall enter this tournament and defeat the evil scoundrel who kidnapped us in the name of my beloved Samus Aran!" the race pilot declared with a swoop of an arm and a booming voice.

"Dude, you're not in the competition. You were just bait. Now get out of my way before I get mad." Yoshi grumbled as Captain Falcon knocked on the door and took on a fighting stance. "All right, that's it. MOVE IT!" the dinosaur yelled and stuffed him into his mouth. He pooped him out inside a huge egg, then knocked on the door to go in. The egg wriggled and Captain Falcon's voice was heard yelling and raging angrily.

--------------------

The egg exploded on the top of the Great Fox mother-ship and Yoshi jumped out, ready to fight. An Arwing swooped down and the Fox copy dropped from it, waiting for further instructions. High above them a scoreboard appeared with Yoshi's picture and Fox's picture. Below the images were the damage meters.

"Third battle for Yoshi! Yoshi versus Fox!" the announcer called out, "Three, two, one! Go!" Fox raced forward in a blur of speed and delivered a kick that sent Yoshi flying. The dino recovered quickly and used a Ground Pound on the pesky critter.

"Bad! Very bad! Fox is fast! I forgot about that!" Yoshi wailed and turned to hurl eggs at him from a distance. Fox pulled out his blaster and fired a few shots, then put up a strange blue shield that bounced Yoshi's eggs off. "What?! What is that thing?!" the dino yelped and ran when Fox gave chase.

"You can't defeat me! Master Hand will take control of your games!" the copy laughed, catching up quickly. An item dropped and Yoshi looked back to see what it was. Fox chose that time to attack and sent him flying again. Yoshi strained to Flutter over him and get to the item. That was when he noticed a strange band on his arm. It had one button on it. Yoshi grabbed the item, a green shell, and hurled it at Fox as he came running back. The fox was knocked backwards, recovered and fired a few more blaster shots. Yoshi pushed the button on the band and a pink bubble shield surrounded him. The shield blocked some of the hits, but as it got hit, it began to shrink. Yoshi looked down at the band and saw that a green meter was also on it. It was slowly turning red but each laser hit made a section of green turn red faster.

"Oh! We get shields when we come into battles? Now I know when to use these!" he exclaimed and rolled forward to avoid Fox's attack as he ran up to try to grab him. Yoshi grabbed the shell again and threw it at him before running to find another item. A capsule fell onto the tail end of the ship and Yoshi dropped down to it, barely dodging an Arwing that swooped in and began to fire on the arena. Fox put up a shield to block the hits before following.

"Give it up, dino-dummy! My speed is enough to knock you out! Then Master Hand can take control of you and the games you star in!" Fox laughed evilly and began to glow a bright red, flames dancing around him. Yoshi grabbed the pill and gulped. He had never seen an attack like that in Fox's list of abilities.

"Forget it! _Yoshi's Story_ is mine!" Yoshi yelled and hurled the pill. It hit Fox, throwing him out of the attack and sent him sailing over the tail and out into space. The capsule revealed a star wand with pink and white stripes. Yoshi grabbed it and held it ready. He had fifty points of damage and Fox had thirty, so he might come back. Yoshi was right, Fox tried the flaming attack again and it boosted him through space and back onto the ship. "No way! What was that?!" he cried.

"Fire Fox! I told you that you couldn't defeat me! I'm more powerful than your previous opponents!" Fox declared and charged at him. Yoshi swung the wand and a star shot out, smacking Fox and sending him back a little. He swung again, and again. Over and over, Yoshi cast the star spells on Fox, knocking him back further and further and racking up hits. Finally, the wand ran out of stars. Fox got to his feet and charged again. Yoshi charged back and slammed him head on. He turned and gave him a quick double kick, then stuffed him into his mouth to plop out into an egg.

"That ought to keep you in one place!" Yoshi declared and began using Bicycle Kicks on him to score more points. An Arwing swooped in and lined up to fire. Yoshi gulped and jumped, Fluttering hard to avoid the lasers. The egg with Fox in it finally burst open and the copy leaped out, furious.

"I'll destroy you, you blasted bonebrain!" Fox screamed in rage just as the Arwing opened fire. The fox was hit hard, slammed into the back of the ship, landed on the Arwing and was flown out of the arena. "Nooo! This isn't over!" Fox howled as he fell into the sky and became a bright star in space. Yoshi dropped the wand and sat down hard, gasping for air as the exit portal appeared.

"That was the hardest fight I've ever been in that I knew there would be no extra lives or continues to fall back on." he grumbled and walked through it.

-------------------

Surprisingly enough, Link was already out, the first to beat the Fox copy. He was lying on his back on the ledge, dozing. Yoshi walked up to him and sat down, watching his face. After a moment, Link made a face, then slowly opened his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep when you have the feeling someone is staring at you?" he griped as he sat up.

"Sorry." Yoshi muttered and cocked his head, "So... how was your fight?" Link looked evasive.

"I learned something new. It wasn't really too hard. Once I learned Fox's shield turned my boomerang and bombs back on me, I found a different way of beating him." he replied and then tightened his mouth, a sign that he wasn't saying anything else. GB Link had a habit of pursing his mouth when he knew something he didn't want others to know yet. By keeping Trainee Link from learning things expert characters knew, GB Link had inadvertently taught him the art of the 'Link Lock', the tight-mouthed look that the Nintendo mascots recognized instantly. Yoshi backed off on the subject and waved to Pikachu as the mouse came scampering up to them.

"Ha! The guy didn't stand a chance! Fox couldn't do a thing against my Thunderjolt! And my Zap Jumps made me almost untouchable!" he laughed and leaped into Link's arms, "Hey! Buddy! You made it out in one piece! That's great!" The two friends laughed together as they waited for the others to emerge. Over the course of a few hours, the other mascots slowly began to come out of their rooms and join up with the group. All of them had a few bruises, but Fox steamed the most of all.

"How could that freak do that to me?! He stole some of my latest attacks! I never even had a chance to field test them in the Star Fox 64 game!" he yelled. Samus pat him on the shoulder, then went to get a canteen of water from Captain Falcon. The ledge lifted up to the next level and once again the group looked up to see who they would fight next. Instead of a symbol over the doors of a battle, however, they found individual symbols and a circle.

"I don't get it." DK muttered, scratching his head as he stared up at the doors.

"Ooh. Big shocker. DK doesn't get it." Pikachu said with a grin. Mario gave him a look.

"Knock it off, Pikachu. You don't get it either." he scolded. Pikachu shrugged.

"Yeah, but at least when I say 'I don't get it' I don't sound like my brains are in my butt." he retorted and laughed again. Link rubbed the spot between his ears and the mouse cooed happily.

"We'll find out about this new challenge in the morning. Let's get some rest, people." Samus told the group, "We have a realm to save."

As the mascots slept peacefully, Link went back to pondering the hair strand. More pieces to the puzzle were in his head now, and a plan was starting to form. However, there was still the identity of the mistaken character to unveil.

"As far as I know, there are about five Marios, three Samuses, three DKs, two Foxes, two Yoshis, and three Kirbys. There are also four Links, NES Link, SNES Link, GB Link, and me. There's only one Pikachu. Pikachu can't be the wrong character because he's popular and he's the only form he has." he muttered and shook his head. "Ah, I'll figure it out later. Right now, I need to think about this baby of a plan." Link leaned against the wall and thought hard.

When he fought the Fox robot, Link had slashed him hard with the sword blade. A huge gash opened in Fox's chest, revealing the robotic body beneath. In the center of the tangle of wires and circuits was a small, round object that had a flashing blue light emanating from it. It looked suspicious to Link so he threw a Motion Detector Bomb at it, then hurled his boomerang at Fox. The hit made the bomb explode and throw Fox to the force field. What startled Link was the announcer's call. It said Fox was defeated **before** the robot hit the force field.

"The blue thing must be some kind of signal. It lets Master Hand know which robots are alive and which ones were thrown off. But if the blue thing gets destroyed before the robot body, then the computers controlling the robots would think that the robot was destroyed." Link realized, "So why didn't it work with the copy of me? Wait a second. The eyes. They were blue and glowing when I activated the head and asked it my questions. The transmitter must have been in the robot Link's head." He closed his eyes and thought hard about how he could use this knowledge against Master Hand. "The robots look exactly like us. They were meant to trick us. Pikachu was fooled by the Link robot. Could Master Hand be tricked by his own robots?" Link wondered as he drifted off to sleep.

Morning brought renewed strength and confidence in their quest as the Nintendo mascots began to check out the new challenge. One by one, they entered their individually marked doors. Captain Falcon had to wait outside again, still grumbling over having been stuck into an egg the first time.

--------------------

"Break the targets!" the announcer yelled as Pikachu was dropped onto the ground for the target game. "Break all the targets to advance to the next level! Fail, and you are disqualified from the Master Tournament!" Pikachu grumbled as he looked up at a giant map of the area.

"Oh, sure. Squash us for missing one stupid target." he grumbled as he raced to the left and fired a bolt of electricity to destroy the first target. The light for it faded on the map. Pikachu ran back to the star, jumped and kicked another target, continued to the right and hit another one. Three down, seven to go. One target was way down near the bottom of the ground. Pikachu looked up at the map to check its position. "Aw, come on! You expect me to hit that? With what? Link's boomerang?" he griped and thought about his attacks. He had seen his electric attack bounce across the ground like a Slinky. "Well. I guess it'll work." he sighed and fired the attack. It snaked down and Pikachu listened for it to hit the target. There was a crash and the light for it vanished. "Cool." the mouse remarked and looked up at the fifth target. It was higher than the other one. He jumped up, flipped for an extra mid-air jump, then gave it a kick to destroy half the targets in the arena.

"Okay. There are platforms up there, so I guess the rest of the targets are up there, too." Pikachu muttered and jumped up again, followed by a mid-air jump, and a Zap Jump when he still couldn't reach. He landed on the platform to the left and checked the map. There was a target in the 'well' thing next to him. If he jumped in to hit it, he wouldn't be able to jump back out. "I can try the sneaky Slinky attack again." Pikachu decided and fired another electric burst. It snaked up the wall and down the other side to smash the target. The light vanished. He laughed as he jumped over the gap to the platform on the right. "This is gonna be easy! Even that banana-brain, DK, can't possibly screw this up!" Pikachu fired another attack to destroy the next target down the side of the gap.

"Then again, that may be asking too much of a miracle." he added as an afterthought and checked the map. "Hmm, three left. Better jump over the well." he remarked and backtracked to the well. Once there, he jumped over the gap to the other side and then did a double jump to reach the high platform, grabbing on with his arms when he slipped. He scrabbled for a bit, then pulled himself up.

"Whoo! Close call. _Pika!_" Pikachu remarked in surprise and blushed, "Oh! I said 'pika'! I haven't said that in a while!" He turned and hit the target with a tail attack, "_Pika!_" He dropped down and hit the target that floated in mid-air with a reverse side kick, "_Pika!_" Pikachu landed on a grassy platform and looked down at the target floating down in the gap. The electric attack couldn't slink down there, there was no wall. "Hey, my Thunderjolt can hit ledges above me. Maybe it can hit stuff below me if I'm not on the ground." he murmured and decided to give it a try. Pikachu took a deep breath and jumped over the gap. Once he was over the target, he called for the lightning bolt to come down. "_PIKACHUUU!_" he cried. The electric bolt shot down and slammed the target, destroying it.

"Perfect!" the announcer cried as Pikachu landed on the opposite side. He strutted proudly into the exit portal that appeared before him.

"I'm good! I'm tough! I can take on anything!" he declared and exited the arena.

---------------

Outside, the other characters were emerging from their break the targets challenge. Pikachu looked for Link and jumped into his arms when he appeared.

"Link! You did it! I knew you could hit all the targets! Wasn't that the easiest thing in the world? There were three of them just out in the open! A kick left, a kick right, a jump and a kick up above and you had three of them down!" he exclaimed. Link looked confused.

"No, it wasn't. Mine was different. There was only one easy one, the rest needed some strategy to get." he replied as Pikachu blinked in surprise.

"Oh, so these non-fight challenges are different for each of us, huh?" he asked. Link nodded. "That's a new one on me." Pikachu muttered and spotted DK. He grinned. "Hey, Link! Guess who actually managed to use his empty head for once! It's our old pal, Dummy Kong the All-fart!" he said aloud. DK beat his chest and roared at them.

"All right, that's it! You just lost your eligibility for being an Allstar, hairball!" he bellowed. Pikachu stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at him as the other characters looked shocked. Pikachu was a popular new mascot! How could he have lost his Allstar eligibility?! Now Pikachu didn't have the ability to be picked out to become a new Allstar!

"Ah, you can keep your stinkin' Allstar paperwork! As long as kids are singing my name and learning all about the hundred and fifty-one Pokémon in the games, you can use my eligibility papers as tissues for that snot factory you call your face!" Pikachu snapped back and laughed again. DK fumed angrily, turning bright red as the other characters began to snicker. Pikachu had to be crazy to insult a Nintendo Allstar like that! Talk about brash and bold! The ape needed something to make the others give him respect again. Taking Pikachu's eligibility didn't work, it only made him seem more of a rebel hero. He need to hurt him another way. It came to DK in a flash. The perfect point to score.

"My 'snot factory' needs more papers than yours, Pika-poop! And I think Link's eligibility will do the job just fine!" DK declared with a grin, "Ya hear that, Sunshine?! Thanks to your buddy, you lost your eligibility to be an Allstar!"

"NO!" Link cried in despair, "Not that! Anything but that!" In one fell swoop, Link's dream of gaining any kind of respect from the other Nintendo characters and Players was utterly destroyed. Pikachu leaped down and shrieked angrily.

"Are you insane?! Why'dya do that for?! You can't do that to Link! He never did anything to you! You keep picking on him and this is the last straw!" the mouse screamed at DK, "You give him back his eligibility right now!" The ape just grinned and held out his hand. A glow appeared over Pikachu and Link, then collected into two small glowing circles. Pikachu's circle and Link's circle both flew to DK's hand and formed two bright silver coins the size of a medal. One coin had Pikachu's image engraved on it. The other had Link's face carved in it. "Give that back!" Pikachu snapped and ran up to snatch at the coins. DK closed his hand over them, covering them in a tight fist.

"Come and get it! Come on! Grab it!" he teased Pikachu. Link stood stone still, despairing over the loss of his Nintendo eligibility coin. Without that coin, he could never be chosen to become an Allstar.

"Don't make me use perfectly good electricity on your ugly butt just to get those coins back!" Pikachu threatened. DK laughed at him and shook his fist above the mouse's head.

"Yeah! I dare ya to shock me!" he taunted and Pikachu began to gather up his electric powers.

"Don't do it, Pikachu!" Fox called out fearfully, "If you use a Thundershock on Donkey Kong, you could destroy the Nintendo Coins! If those coins are destroyed, you and Link will lose all connections to Nintendo forever! You'll be cut off from the Nintendo Power Core and die!" Pikachu eased up on the electricity and growled angrily as DK laughed and held up the Link Coin. The Pikachu Coin had already vanished into some mystic pocket DK carried around with him.

"Aw, poor little mousey can't get his buddy's coin. Now who's the dummy?" he teased and taunted as Pikachu growled and grumbled angrily over the situation.

"Please." Link said suddenly. Everyone looked at him, even Pikachu and Donkey Kong. Link opened his mouth, closed it, then spoke again. "Please. Give the coins back to us. Please." he repeated. DK made the Link Coin vanish and gave him a look. "Please, DK. Give us back the coins." Link repeated.

"You can call me Donkey Kong. Only other Allstars call me DK." the ape told him.

"That's a lie, you big, fat, hairy oaf!" Pikachu snapped at him. DK wagged a finger at him, snickering as he showed him the Link Coin for a split second.

"Please, Donkey Kong. Give us back the coins." Link replied softly. The Nintendo fighters shifted uncomfortably. Sure they all picked on Link at one time or another, especially when he was a kid in training for the _Ocarina of Time_ game. But this was going a bit too far.

"Mr. Donkey Kong." DK corrected. Pikachu hissed again, growing angrier every moment Link had to plead for the coins.

"Please, Mr. Donkey Kong. Give us back the coins." Link amended, still speaking softly. He looked about ready to cry.

"Ummm. I'm not convinced." DK remarked, snootily, "Beg for the coins. That might win me over, Sunshine." Link winced and looked down at his boots. He stood for a long time, mouth pursed in the 'Link Lock' the others knew so well. Finally, he looked up at DK with the sheen of tears in his eyes, but the tears did not fall.

"_Never_. I carry the name of Link and I will not humiliate them or myself by getting on my knees and begging for that which is rightfully mine and Pikachu's." he replied coldly, "I will have those coins returned to us on my terms." The fighters looked stunned as he turned his back on them and looked out at the horizon of the Realm of Neutrality. Pikachu stuck his tongue out at DK again and ran to Link's side, also turning his back on the others.

"Then, uh, then you don't get your stupid coins. Nyah!" DK retorted weakly and turned to watch Mario exit his room and join them.

"That was weird. Oh well." the plumber remarked, "So, what have you guys been doing?" The characters looked at each other, debating whether to tell him DK stole the Nintendo Coins from Link and Pikachu or not. They decided not to say anything. If a war broke out between Donkey Kong's game characters and Link and Pikachu's game characters, it would be extremely ugly and they didn't want to be caught in the middle.

"Um, nothing really. Just waiting for you." Yoshi replied with a slight squeak in his voice. He cleared his throat and forced a grin. Mario looked doubtful. Something was up and they weren't talking. Well, he would find out what the trouble was soon enough. The ledge lifted to the next level and the sun was beginning to set again. The tournament was far from over and Mario couldn't afford to lose any of his teammates, especially rookies like Link and Pikachu, who were barely getting settled into the routine.

"Let's get some sleep, everyone. A tired character is an easily defeated one." Mario sighed and began to pick out a sleeping spot.

----------------------------

"What do you mean, '_they disappeared_'?!" the three Links all shrieked together as Arcade Mario announced the news of the missing Nintendo mascots, "Where's Trainee Link?! Don't tell us he was one of the missing characters! We want our N64 Link back right now!"

"We're getting reports in from Players around the world!" NES Zelda called out from the base computer's monitors, "They all say the major stars of their games have disappeared!"

"Was our Link among them?" GB Link demanded of the characters checking the scrolling entries.

"We've confirmed the MIAs of N64 Mario, N64 Donkey Kong...." NES Ganondorf called back.

"SNES Kirby never reported in after his game was completed by a player, GB Pikachu, N64 Fox...." SNES Fox added, "Man! Don't they have any idea how long it took to train that guy?! It's always 'Daddy' this and 'Father' that. No offense, James."

"None taken. Confirmed reports of MIAs on N64 Yoshi, SNES Samus, N64 Captain Falcon...." N64 James McCloud called out.

"Standard characters are also missing! We've got confirmation of GB Jigglypuff missing in action! NES Ness also missing! N64 Luigi disappeared halfway through Mario Kart 64!" GB Kirby added.

"We've got the Zelda website overrun by Players on a rampage! N64 Link is a major MIA, everybody! Nintendo's losing the audience again! We don't get that guy back, we've had it for this season!" N64 Princess Peach declared. The three remaining Links began yelling and shouting again as Arcade Mario called for order.

"All three Links, cool it! We'll find a way to get them back!" he shouted. He paused and took a deep breath. "Is the transmitter still working?" he finally asked the group of characters standing before him.

"He hasn't found it. Yet. It should still work as long as he isn't too badly damaged." SNES DK replied.

"All right then. Start scanning for the signal. If we can lock onto him, we might be able to find the others with him. Then we can beam them all back here." Arcade Mario declared and the characters rushed off to start searching. The three Links huddled together and whispered things over, plotting.

"Let's see if we can use the items from the Capcom/Nintendo projects to help out our new addition." GB Link said.

"It's going to be tricky. N64 Link wasn't designed to use those items, and the GBC Link is still under construction. He doesn't even have a personality, memory, or program in yet!" NES Link pointed out.

"It's not like we have much of a choice. I heard that one of the new items makes the GBC Link look like you, GB Link. Maybe that can help N64 Link. If he looks like us, then he can move among the others much easier and not run into the problems he's had here at the base." SNES Link remarked.

"Then it's settled. We'll borrow the First Gen Ring from the GBC vault and send it to N64 Link. Come on!" GB Link declared and the three elves raced off to the vault.


	6. The Birth of An Idea, Link VS Pikachu!

A/N: Actually, I'm not entirely sure how I came up with most of it. The story is actually a third version that was completed, the first two were snippets of dreams I had based on different tournament scenarios. Originally, the characters were a lot more coarse and spent time in a break room before fighting each other to see who was strong enough to take on Master Hand.

The second version was written after I watched The Wizard, that movie with the kids in the video game tournament. It gave me the idea of a super-power sending the characters after Master Hand to save the world. I dropped that idea for a short time and finally created this version. It eventually evolved into the Game Realm series and the idea of the super-power leading game characters returned. That's where I got the ideas for the Entities of the Game Realm; Nin, Tendo, Sega, Sony, X-Spirit (X and Baux) and the newest addition, Sammy.

The idea for the Allstars ranking came from my favorite snack, Nintendo All-Stars Fruit Snacks. The characters used were Mario, Luigi, Peach, DK, Link, Yoshi, and a Starman. So I used that to set up the Allstars here in the story. The Link Lock is from that basic expression on Adult Link's face in Ocarina of Time. He looks like he swallowed a lemon and doesn't want anyone to know.

---------------------------------------------

Chapter Five

Morning finally came and with it came the next challenge. The Nintendo fighters stared at the doors in confusion. Link glared, unhappy with what the symbols showed him.

"Uh...." DK began. Pikachu held up a tiny hand.

"Don't tell me." he began and crossed his eyes, putting a finger to his head as he stuck his tongue out goofily, "Dah, I dun git it!" He mimicked DK's former remark in a warped way. Link burst into laughter and hugged his sides as he fell back and kicked at the air. DK glared at them, but didn't finish his sentence.

"Okay, we have Link's Triforce and Fox's Star Fox Insignia against two mushrooms." Mario remarked. "DK's initials and my mushroom against two mushrooms. Kirby's star and Samus' lightning bolt against two mushrooms. Pikachu's Poké Ball and Yoshi's egg against two mushrooms. Anyone see a pattern here?"

"It's another fight where the enemy comes at us in teams. Master Hand has decided to toy with us by letting us fight them with a friend to help us. We're to go in two at a time. Our chances of winning is increased with the addition of a helper, but so are our chances of losing because both fighters could fall in only one battle whereas before only one fighter risked losing." Link replied softly. Everyone stared at him in amazement. DK snorted.

"I was gonna say that." he remarked. Pikachu rolled his eyes.

"Really? When? Next century?" he asked and laughed again.

"Okay. That's enough for today." Mario scolded the mouse and walked up to the door with his and DK's symbols, "Come on, Donkey Kong. Let's get this done." The two Allstars disappeared into the room.

"Who's the other guy we're fighting?" Fox asked as he walked up to Link to enter their door. "We know the mushroom is Mario's symbol. Do we fight two Marios?" Link tightened his mouth and cocked his head, just as puzzled, but unwilling to admit it. "Never mind. At least since I'll be with you I can finally figure out what you do with these copies that has you zoning out faster than DK on Banana Day." the pilot sighed as they entered the room.

"See ya later, Link!" Pikachu called and bounded to Yoshi's side. "Come on, come on! Let's go!" The two of them ran off to their door and entered it. Samus watched them leave and looked to Kirby.

"I guess that leaves you and me. Come on. Let's see if we of the non-64 generation can match wits and brawn with the rest of them!" she declared. Kirby smiled and nodded.

"Ready when you are, Samus!" he replied and they headed to their door.

"What am I supposed to do?" Captain Falcon wailed to them.

"You can draw in the sand, dear. We'll be back soon!" Samus called over her shoulder sweetly as the door closed behind them.

------------------------

A warp opened and Samus stepped out of it as the star carrying Kirby smashed onto the scene. Castle Peach was the arena, with two wedges and a dual-level stage with a moving platform and a bumper set up high above the area. Opposite the two friends, a pair of green pipes appeared and the copies of Mario and Luigi popped up out of them.

"So that's who the second mushroom represented. Luigi!" Samus remarked as she looked over the edge at the bottom level, where Kirby and Luigi faced off.

"Fourth battle for Samus and Kirby! Samus and Kirby versus Mario Brothers!" the announcer declared, "Three, two, one, go!" The two brothers jumped and fired off a barrage of fireballs at the two friends. Samus activated her shield, then ran in and began to use Superspin attacks on Mario while Kirby inhaled Luigi, swallowed and stole his fireball power, a green Luigi hat appearing on his head. Luigi jumped up to join his brother, double teaming on Samus.

"Give it up! We're too strong when we're together! You may as well surrender right now to Master Hand's awesome power!" the Mario and Luigi copies both yelled in one voice.

"Not if we can help it!" Kirby yelled back, jumping up and using a Rock Drop on them. The two brothers were blown apart and Samus chased Mario down while Kirby ganged up on Luigi. Items began to drop from the sky, an egg and a capsule. Kirby grabbed the capsule while Mario snagged the egg. Both of them cracked open the items by hurling them at opponents.

"Aaah!" Samus cried as she flew off the arena. She hit a floating wedge and was bounced back onto Castle Peach. "Whoa! Close call! Look out, Kirby! Mario's got a beam sword!" she cried out as she scrambled to her feet. Kirby grabbed at the tomato that appeared from his capsule and threw it towards her as Mario raced forward and whacked at him with the sword. Kirby was thrown back, only to be grabbed by Luigi and sent into a whirlwind attack. Samus began to charge up her gun. "Hang on, Kirby! Don't fall!" she screamed, "I'll help you in a second!" Mario turned on her, slicing at her with the sword. Samus was thrown out of her charging mode and hit the moving platform.

"Sometime today, Samus!" Kirby yelled, getting hit back and forth between Mario and Luigi like a volleyball. Samus jumped back onto the upper ledge as a crate fell onto the lower one.

"I'm doing the best I can!" she yelled back and finished charging. She fired the huge shot at the Mario Brothers and they were blasted out of the arena. Luigi fell and hit the force field, but Mario returned by using a super jump.

"Luigi defeated!" the announcer declared as Samus and Kirby taunted the fallen clone.

"You'll pay for that!" the Mario copy yelled and chased down Kirby, grabbing on and whirling him around before throwing him at Samus. The two friends collided and were sent flying over the ledge onto the platform below.

"Crate! There's a crate! Let me get it!" Kirby wailed and scrambled to get to the box. Mario jumped down and laughed maniacally.

"These items are mine! And with them, you shall meet your doom!" the clone declared and used a smash attack on the crate. It was booby trapped. The crate exploded, slamming Mario into the force field and ending the match.

"Did he just kill himself?" Samus asked Kirby. Kirby shrugged as he tossed away the Luigi cap to remove the powers.

"I guess he was secretly suicidal." the star warrior replied as the exit portal opened and let the two of them out.

----------------------

Samus and Kirby were joined by the other teams as the ledge moved up and they celebrated their victories with a dinner of more rations. Link was still in silent thought and Pikachu sat beside him, watching him worriedly. Fox told tales of Link having used a fan item on himself and him having to take it away and use it on Mario to build up a little damage before hitting him with a Poké Ball. Mario and DK weren't on speaking terms for the moment.

"It was the easiest thing in the world to just pick them up and throw them overboard!" DK declared, "I've wanted to do that for years!"

"You didn't have to enjoy it that much." Mario grumbled, "How dare Master Hand send a copy of my brother against me. And the dummy here was giggling as he slammed the clone me and Luigi to smithereens."

"We should be done with these challenges in no time! We finish off Master Hand, stop his evil plans and go home hunky dory happy!" Fox exclaimed and laughed, "I'll finally get to see the end of the game so I can report back to Nintendo!"

"It's getting late so I think we should get some rest before we go up against the next set of challenges." Yoshi remarked, "It was hard. The Mario Brothers acted like they had one brain that they shared. Weird." The other fighters wondered a bit about it, then began to find sleeping spots. Link watched them doze off and thought harder.

"The Link copy started with red hair. GB Link and the others have red hair. The hair turns gold suddenly. My hair is blonde. The clone must have been built with the old Links' looks, and then were abruptly made over to look like me when I was beamed into the battle. That must have been why I was unconscious when I entered the Hyrule stage. The robot needed time to be redone." he whispered, "But if the robot was designed for the old Links' specifications, then that means... I'm the mistake! I'm not supposed to be here! Master Hand wanted the most popular Nintendo characters! He wanted GB Link, but he kidnapped me instead!" The elfin hero looked up at the top of the mountain, which was hidden in thick clouds. "If Master Hand finds out I'm the wrong Link.... Don't think about that, Trainee! Think about a plan! How can you beat him when you reach him? You can't do it alone. Master Hand will probably be the hardest boss in the entire tournament. He's not called a master for nothing."

Link settled back and studied the characters. He had found the blue transmitter in the Mario copy and destroyed it first. The announcer had declared Mario to be defeated even though Link still had Mario's body. With Fox too engaged in beating up Luigi with a ray gun he found, Link studied the computer in the body and figured out the control mechanics. He learned how to make it walk and jump and do a few simple attacks like punch and kick. Then he threw it over the edge before it could yell out that Link had gained access to its control systems.

"I could use that knowledge somehow." he muttered and looked up at the doors. A Poké Ball symbol appeared on each one, the next opponent was a Pikachu clone. The plan that was scattered in his brain finally began to shape up. Link smiled. "That's it! I can't beat Master Hand alone, so I'll sneak a character in with me to team against him! But if I make the switch out here, he'll find out. However, if I can do the switch in another team battle, please let there be another one soon, then I can replace the real character with its robot copy. I'll just control it with a few new programmed codes. It'll get defeated pretty quick and Master Hand will think it's the real thing and not expect him to come back later." he whispered happily. He studied the group of characters. "I'll need someone to switch with. Someone I can hide easily with me. Someone I can trust." he murmured and looked up at the doors again. The Poké Ball.

"Fox got a Poké Ball in the battle. Pikachu can fit in one. I trust Pikachu. I can hide Pikachu in a Poké Ball in my bomb bag. Perfect!" Link laughed, "I'll steal the Pikachu robot, switch it with the real Pikachu, hide him in the ball in my bag and carry him with me up until I get to Master Hand!" Confident and content with his plan, Link settled back and slept peacefully.

**Link Versus Pikachu**

No one could quite understand why Link was in such a confident and upbeat mood. Morning had dawned like any other day and they had the usual light breakfast, but instead of being gloomy and muttering about how he felt inferior to the other characters, Link was cheerful and joked with Pikachu.

"I think he's lost it." Fox remarked under his breath to Kirby.

"I don't think he had it to begin with." DK grumbled as he poked at his plate. With breakfast done, the group got up to see who their next opponent would be.

"Aaaahhh! It's the clone me!" Pikachu shrieked, "I can't attack that! It'll have my Zap Jump!" Link picked him up and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry! You can beat him! You've got to! You can't leave me alone to deal with Dorky Kong there." he exclaimed. Pikachu glanced at the ape and chewed on his lip.

"Well, okay. I'll give the copy-Meowth everything I've got, but only because I owe you for making you lose your Allstar qualifications." he replied and jumped down to face the door with his symbol. "All right! I'm coming in so get ready to say your prayers, you Pika-fake!" the mouse declared and marched into the room. The other characters spread out to find their doors.

"What about me?! What am I gonna do all day?!" Captain Falcon wailed. Samus pulled out a pan and pushed it into his hands.

"Get started on making dinner. And go easy on the grease, I'm watching my figure." she told him before entering her room. Link smiled up at the Poké Ball on the door.

"Now I know what to do, Master Hand. And you're not going to win this tournament!" he remarked and entered the door to start his master plan.

---------------------

The beam of light set Link down on the Silph Co. building gently while a Poké Ball slammed down to unleash the fake Pikachu. Link looked up at the scoreboard and took in the view of the arena. Lots of platforms and gaps. He could easily dump the transmitter down one gap and smuggle the robot out under his shield. Content with the plan, he stood ready for the fight.

"Fifth battle for Link! Link versus Pikachu!" the announcer declared, "Three, two, one, go!" Pikachu zipped forward at high speed.

"Prepare to meet your end, Link!" the mouse robot declared as it used a powerful headbutt to ram into the elf and send him flying back over a gap and onto another platform. Link picked himself up and winced in pain, holding up his sword as a block when he saw Pikachu come at him with a drilling headbutt. The mouse bounced off and used a Zap Jump to get reoriented. Link used the time to run up to a crate that dropped from the sky.

"Let it be a Poké Ball!" Link cried as he hurled a bomb at it. The crate exploded, showering the rooftop with a ray gun, a star wand and a Poké Ball. "Finally!" Link raced to the items and grabbed the ball as Pikachu zapped up and nabbed the gun.

"You're not getting away so easily!" the robot declared and began firing the gun. Link was hit and thrown against the doors of the Pokémon box on the building's rooftop. Over and over the hits came, building damage up on Link's health meter until it hit fifty-two percent. When the gun ran out of ammunition, Pikachu threw it at Link, adding a little more damage to him. The doors behind him opened and a Venusaur popped out, firing Razor Leaf attacks and sending the two battlers flying through the air. Link held on to the ball and struggled to his feet. Pikachu landed on a nearby floating platform and got up.

"Have you guys found the wrong character yet?" Link taunted wearily, "I bet Master Hand is really mad about it!" The robot shrieked and raced at him, leaving himself open to a flurry of sword slashes. Link slashed as fast as he could, then grabbed the mouse and hurled him into the box. A Porygon charged out with a headbutt, slamming Pikachu into a platform, which bounced him off and onto the rooftop again. Link looked up at the scoreboard and noted that Pikachu's damage meter was going up fairly high. "I'd better get this done quickly, or I'll lose the copy." he muttered and jumped down to stab the Master Sword into the robot's tail, pinning it to the floor.

"You can't do this! This is not in accordance to the laws of the Master Tournament!" the robot Pikachu screamed. Link planted his foot on the tail, pulled out the sword and slashed open the robot's belly to reveal the gleaming blue transmitter and main computer.

"Rules have changed." Link growled and pushed a few buttons on the computer, shutting down the robot. He tore the transmitter out and threw it over the building into the force field. Quickly, Link threw down the Poké Ball to empty out the creature inside and repacked the ball before it could vanish. The transmitter hit the field and disappeared.

"Pikachu defeated!" the announcer declared, "Hostage being released!" A large metal box was dropped down from the sky and landed on the roof of the Silph Co. building. Link reprogrammed the mouse robot to obey his commands, then packed it under his shield. He looked up at the box suspiciously, then headed up and knocked on the metal door.

"Who's there?!" a voice wailed. Link blinked and tried to look into the tiny barred window.

"Uh... Link." he replied.

"Oh, great! Somebody came to rescue me!" the voice cheered, "Uh... which one?"

"Um, the Nintendo 64 version." Link answered.

"Oh. Okay. Hey, you haven't seen my brother around here, have ya?" the voice asked. Link scratched his head in confusion and then smiled.

"Wait a second! I know you! You're Luigi!" he declared and laughed, "Yeah, your brother's right outside! Boy, is he gonna be happy to see you!"

"Great! Now get me out of this little box. It's stuffy." Luigi remarked. Link opened the door and Luigi stepped out, patting his head with a frown. "Man, I can't believe those things took my hat." he grumbled.

"What things?" Link asked him as the exit portal opened.

"These funny purple things that look like they were made out of metal or crystal or something. It's freaky, but one of them had Mario's fireball attacks." Luigi replied as they stepped out, "So, what are you doing here? Did you get out of your jail cell?"

"Nope. I'm a fighter in this tournament thing. Ask your brother about it. Mario has the info and I'm kind of busy right now with something." Link replied and tightened his mouth. Luigi recognized the look and dropped the subject.

-------------------

"Mario!" Luigi cried some two hours later when the red plumber came out of his room with a few bruises.

"Luigi!" Mario exclaimed joyfully and ran to him for a hug. The brothers cried happily and chattered about how much they were worried about each other. Link watched for a moment, then turned to walk next to Pikachu's door and wait for him. While the plumbers talked about the situation, Link pulled out the Pikachu robot and began to push buttons in it for walking, talking, and attacking. He packed it away quickly when he saw DK arrive from his battle.

"I got a baseball bat and I gave that rat a whack and he went slammin' into the force field! You should've seen it! It was awesome! Like playing baseball with a fuzzy little mouse-ball!" the ape declared and laughed, "We're gonna beat this tournament, no problem!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself." Link muttered as one by one the other characters emerged. Pikachu came out at last, exhausted.

"That had to be the hardest challenge I've ever taken. And I was right. The stupid copy had my Zap Jump." he grumbled as Link picked him up, "Well, did he go easy on ya, or what?"

"I got shot a few times and he rammed me in the stomach. I'll be okay after I eat and get some rest, and you should be, too." Link replied and smiled briefly before turning serious. "Pikachu, listen. I have an idea on what to do about Master Hand, but I'll need you to cooperate and help me. I'll tell you my plan tonight, when everyone else is asleep. If they find out, my plan could be ruined." he whispered to the mouse. Pikachu blinked up at him and nodded, grinning fiercely.

"I already like the sounds of it!" he replied.

"Hey, everybody! Look who Link rescued! My brother, Luigi!" Mario declared to the group. They cheered happily and welcomed Luigi warmly. Captain Falcon held out a pan of bacon and pointed at the pot of stew.

"Who's gonna eat all this?! I hated cooking!" he demanded. With dinner set up and another Nintendo Allstar back in their midst, the Nintendo fighters settled down to eat and recover from the battle against a difficult clone Pikachu as the ledge rose to another level.


	7. Switch!

To this day I don't know where Captain Falcon got the bacon, maybe he had it in his pants? Ew....

------------------------

Chapter Six

Master Hand waited at the top of Tournament Mountain for his opponents, confident he would enslave them all. A Polygon rushed up to him and stammered its message quickly.

"**WHAT**?!" Master Hand bellowed, "Another one?! How did they manage to rescue _another_ of their friends?!"

"The fighters are better than we originally thought, Master Hand." the Polygon replied meekly, "And we still haven't found the identity of the incorrect character. We believed he could be found by analyzing the strength of the character and the weakest would be the less popular one that we took by mistake. But they were all quite powerful in their own rights."

"Find that character and bring him to me! NOW!" Master Hand roared. The Polygon yelped and rushed away again. "How could I, the great and all-powerful Master Hand, possibly mistake an influential character with one of weaker value? He will feel the full brunt of my fury when I catch him!" he simmered.

-----------------------

Night came and the Nintendo fighters slept peacefully. Luigi got his hat back and the group was given new hope on finding the other two characters and getting home. Pikachu also slept to recover from the battle. Link let him sleep and returned to programming the robot mouse. As he did, a shimmer in the space in front of him caught his attention. Stashing the robot behind him, Link glared at the shimmer. It slowly formed into the image of GB Link. He smiled in relief at the blonde rookie.

"Oh, good. You're all right. The other Links and I were worried about you." GB Link told him. N64 Link nodded, surprised by the image.

"GB Link! How did you find me? Can you get us out of here?" he asked in a whisper. The image shook his head.

"Something is blocking our beam. We can't quite lock on to you. As for how we found you, we traced the transmitter's signal." he replied. N64 Link looked confused and GB Link laughed softly. "The earring you wear on the left ear is actually a tiny micro-transmitter. The one on the right is a tiny microphone. Everyone has a transmitter on them so we can track them locally, but yours we had advanced so it could be picked up anywhere." he explained.

"And when I'm little?"

"Embedded in your clothes. Listen, we can't get you out yet, but the other Links and I wanted to give you something that could help you out." GB Link said and held out the First Gen Ring, a gold band with a green jewel on it. "This is the First Gen Ring. It was in storage for the new Game Boy Color and Project Atlantis adventures we currently have under construction, but we decided you needed it right now." he told the elf. N64 Link reached out and took the ring, studying it with curiosity. "When you put the ring on, it will instantly make you look exactly like me. Be careful on your quest. We think it could be dangerous."

"GB Link, you don't know the half of it. You've got to tell everyone back home to be prepared! You could get invaded by robot copies of us!" N64 Link cried, "There's this guy who's planning to...!" The image of GB Link vanished before he could continue. Link stared at the air, then looked down at the ring before putting it away. He turned and shook Pikachu awake. "Pikachu! Get up! I need to talk to you! The plan, remember?" he called. Pikachu came to with a start.

"What? Oh, yeah. What's your idea?" he asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Link brought out the robot and Pikachu yelped. "Why did you keep that thing?! Quick! Get rid of it before it starts attacking us!!" he shrieked and Link covered his mouth.

"Hey! Quiet! It's dead, and I reprogrammed it to obey me." he told him, "This robot will help us in my plan. I snuck it out of the battle and we're going to trick Master Hand with it."

"Wait a second. Reprogrammed? You mean we've been fighting robots all along?" Pikachu asked. Link nodded. "That explains the Yoshi and Mario teams talking with one voice. They sounded like robots."

"I'm going to switch this robot with you in the next battle. You'll hide in the Poké Ball in my bomb bag. The robot takes your place in the match after that. When it gets defeated, Master Hand will think it's the real you and take the robot out of the tournament." Link explained quickly, "I'll get to Master Hand and we'll double team him. Together, we can beat him!"

"It's sneaky and underhanded, Link." Pikachu pointed out, "You'll be breaking the rules of the tournament." He grinned mischievously at the robot Pikachu. "And I like it! Let's do it!"

"We'll switch you in the battle so no one will know what happened, especially Master Hand." Link told him. He pointed up at one door. Over it were the symbols for Link, Pikachu, and Samus versus DK.

"Why do we need three people to beat up one stupid monkey?" Pikachu grumbled. Link shrugged as he packed up the robot after closing up the gash.

"Who knows, but we'll have to do the switch while Samus is distracted or she'll learn about my plan." Link replied and showed Pikachu the First Gen Ring. "Oh, and GB Link sent this to me via some kind of hologram. The other Nintendo characters are trying to get us out of here but they can't beam us out because Master Hand must be blocking the signal." he added.

"They never let us have it easy, do they?" Pikachu sighed. Link shook his head. "Well, let's get some sleep so we can deal with it tomorrow." And with that, the two of them drifted off.

**Link, Pikachu, and Samus versus Giant Donkey Kong**

Morning brought the Nintendo characters a new challenge. Three characters against one opponent. The first door had the symbols for Mario, DK, and Fox against a DK clone. The second door had Link, Pikachu and Samus. The third had Yoshi, Kirby and Mario again.

"What?! I have to fight twice?! Why?!" Mario demanded. Link growled angrily.

"Master Hand must have figured out that Mario is one of the two Golden Mascots for Nintendo, Luigi being the other one. He's trying to wear Mario down by making him fight twice in one day so he would fall easier." he muttered. Pikachu looked worried.

"What about you? I'll be rested, but you'll be fighting battles alone from now on." he told him. "So, how's the you-know-what?"

"It's fully programmed now. While Samus is distracted, I'll put you in the Poké Ball and the robot takes your place." Link whispered. "Get ready. Here we go."

-------------------

A beam dropped Link down, a Poké Ball unleashed Pikachu, and a portal let Samus step out onto the wooden arena for DK. A pair of circling platforms floated in the center and a barrel passed back and forth underneath the arena, spinning around. A giant barrel dropped down in front of the three fighters. Samus held herself ready as Link and Pikachu prepared to find a time to switch.

"Seventh battle for Link, Samus, and Pikachu! Link, Pikachu, and Samus versus Giant Donkey Kong!" the announcer declared.

"**Giant** Donkey Kong?!" the three fighters exclaimed in shock as the announcer counted down the timer and the barrel exploded. A huge version of DK loomed above them on one of the slanted platforms over the arena.

"I guess this is why there's three guys against him." Pikachu muttered. Link jumped up onto the moving platform.

"Samus! Charge up your blaster! Pikachu! Get underneath and use Thunderbolt! I'll attack from the front!" he ordered the two fighters.

"Got it!" Samus cried and began to charge up her gun. Pikachu scampered forward and started calling down lightning to hit DK. Link threw his boomerang over and over. The ape jumped down and began slamming the ground, shaking and damaging Pikachu and Samus.

"Not good! Link! What now?!" Pikachu cried just as Link came down on the giant ape, slamming his sword into him. "He's up to forty points!"

"Link! Out of the way!" Samus shrieked and fired the charged shot. The elf jumped and grabbed onto the circling ledge as DK was thrown back and spun back onto the platform with a whirling attack.

"You cannot defeat me with only a hundred points of damage! I am more powerful than any fighter you've been against so far!" the robotic ape laughed. Pikachu made a face and jumped to give him an electric drill attack.

"Pikachu! Be careful! Samus! Charge again!" Link cried and threw a bomb at a barrel that dropped onto the scene. It blew open and revealed a laser gun, Poké Ball, and Bob-omb. He grabbed the bomb and tossed it to Pikachu. "Pikachu! Catch!" he cried and grabbed the ball. DK swept his hand overhead and slapped Link aside. He slammed onto another ledge, dropping the ball. The Poké Ball opened and released a Snorlax that soared into the air.

"Take this!" Pikachu yelled and threw the Bob-omb at Giant DK. It exploded and caused more damage to the ape. "Link! Are you okay?! Move out of the way! Snorlax is coming back!" the mouse yelled. Link lay still as DK began to charge up a Super Punch, swinging his arm around and around. "Link!"

The Snorlax grew three times its size and came rushing down, slamming into DK, but not even touching Link. The ape was thrown off the platform again, but came spinning back up onto the arena again.

"When will he go down?!" Samus screamed, firing the charged shot at him. Pikachu ran up to Link's side and shook him.

"Link! Link, wake up!" he cried. Link groaned and sat up, shaking his head.

"What hit me?" he groaned. Pikachu laughed and was about to speak when Link yelped, grabbed him and rolled backwards off the platform. DK had jumped up and grabbed the blaster, firing away at them. "What's happened?! Why is he still around after all the damage he's picked up?!" Link yelled.

"We've got him at a little over a hundred points, but he's too strong for us!" Pikachu replied, "I'd hate to admit it, but this DK is stronger and smarter!"

"Get him higher!" Link exclaimed as Samus went into a Superspin attack and built up a lot of damage points on DK. "Attack!" Link yelled and jumped up to stand in front of the ape and stabbing at him over and over with the sword. Pikachu stood beneath his platform and called down electricity over and over. The damage meter went up to two hundred points until DK used a spin kick to sweep Link and Samus off of the platform. Samus fell over the edge, screaming.

"Samus! Look out! Grab onto the edge!" Pikachu cried as she landed in the barrel. "Shoot back up here!" The barrel spun and fired Samus straight up into DK. Link was thrown down and nearly fell over the ledge, but he held on and scrambled back on board. Another barrel fell and DK grabbed it, throwing it at Samus as Pikachu continued his electric barrage and Link jumped up onto the circling ledge. The barrel exploded and hurled Samus backwards.

"Hang on!" Link cried and grabbed onto her leg as she flew past him. Samus cried and dangled over the edge of the platform as Link struggled to pull her up. DK lumbered over and jumped to his ledge, charging up his Super Punch again.

"And now I'm going to finish the two of you at the same time!" the giant ape laughed. Pikachu raced up with a Zap Jump and Electric Drilled his back, throwing him out of the charge long enough to let Link pull Samus up.

"Thanks, Pikachu!" he called back and checked the damage meters. "DK's up to about two fifty. Get him to three hundred and maybe that will knock him over." he muttered and turned to Samus. "Okay, keep using that spin attack. Pikachu will attack from underneath and I'll grab whatever falls for our use."

"All right. Thanks for saving me." Samus replied. Link nodded and smiled at her.

"We'll beat him!" he exclaimed and they spread out to fight DK, who now moved down to the lower ledge and waited for one of them to get near him. "I'll get him up here! Heeyah!" Link yelled and used a downward stab on him. DK knocked him aside and jumped up to a ledge. Samus jumped over ledges to reach him as Pikachu leaped down to join Link.

"When do we make the switch?" Pikachu asked him. Link sat up and pulled out the robot.

"Right now. Samus is too busy beating up DK to notice. Get in the Poké Ball." Link whispered. Pikachu winked at him.

"See you in the final round." he replied and vanished into the ball. Link packed it into his bag and activated the robot.

"If I make it there." he whispered and focused on the robot. "Okay. Attack Donkey Kong. Stop when he is defeated." The robot nodded and leaped up to use electric drills and kicks.

"Link! We've got him up to three hundred and twenty points!" Samus cried. Link leaped straight up and pulled a whirlwind attack, slashing around in a wide circle that threw DK off the arena and slammed him into the force field. The ape shrieked in fury before vanishing. The clone Pikachu stopped fighting and stood, waiting for its next order.

"Donkey Kong defeated!" the announcer declared and a portal opened. Samus laughed in relief as she wobbled to it.

"I am _hurtin_', but I feel great! We beat a giant Donkey Kong!" she whooped and danced through the portal. Link sighed and looked out at the arena.

"Step one, complete. Now for step two. I have to put on the ring and trick everyone into thinking I'm GB Link." he muttered, "With the robot gone, no one is watching this room, so here goes." Link brought out the ring and slipped it onto his finger. A flash of light erupted from it and then a wave of golden light spread over his hand, up his arm and across the rest of him, changing the look of his clothes and the style of them into that of GB Link's outfit and colors. When the transformation was complete, Link felt his face. Instead of the perky, slightly pointed nose he was given, he now had GB Link's slightly long, rounded nose. "Hey! It worked! Come on, Pikachu! Out the portal!" he declared and ran out of the room with the robot following behind.

----------------

"We defeated Giant Donkey Kong!" Samus laughed as she ran up and hugged Captain Falcon. Yoshi and Kirby blinked and looked at each other in surprise.

"Giant Donkey Kong?" Kirby echoed.

"That explains why we need three characters to fight him." Yoshi remarked. Link and Pikachu joined the group and the characters stared at Link. "GB Link?! Here?! Where's N64 Link?" Yoshi cried in shock.

"We locked onto his transmitter and beamed him back to the base." Link lied, "He told me what was happening, so to keep Master Hand from learning about the missing character, I decided to take his place. He's just a rookie, too inexperienced to fight here. I'll do a much better job."

"Finally! A Link with some brains!" Captain Falcon declared. Link winced and frowned. So, that's how they really thought of him, a blonde airheaded idiot.

"Quiet!" Samus snapped and looked at Link. "Sorry. N64 Link acted with experience in the last battle. He showed leadership and intelligence. You and the others have trained him very well. When did you come?"

"Just after you left the arena. Pikachu saw me switch Trainee Link out." he replied. Pikachu nodded and smiled.

"_Pika!_" he exclaimed as the second door opened and the three fighters walked out, tired. DK looked around, spotted Link, and laughed.

"So, Sunshine decided to run and hide while a real man took his place." he snickered, "Nice to see you, GB Link." Fox raised an eyebrow, then headed off to sit and rest. Mario walked up to him, shook his hand and expressed gratitude that he was there, asked where N64 Link was, then went to rest before his next battle.

"Be quiet, you filthy ape!" Link snapped at DK and stalked away to steam and think over his next part in the plan.

"Ha, ha. You got GB Link mad at you." Kirby teased, "Ooh, now you're gonna get it." Yoshi checked on Mario and asked if he felt ready to fight.

"Yeah. Okay, I'm ready. Let's go. Watch out for that guy's whirlwind attack. It brings him back on the stage. Get him up to about three hundred damage points to knock him out." Mario replied as he and Yoshi and Kirby headed up to the door to start their fight.

"Pikachu! Come here!" Link called out and the robot ran to him, sitting next to him. The group watched them curiously, then went back to trying to figure out what would happen next.

"The fights are getting harder. I don't think we can take much more of this." Fox sighed.

"It's a good thing N64 Link was taken out of the tournament. It wouldn't do us any good if he fell in the next challenge. He's too young to fail now. Nintendo still needs him for Dolphin, once he gets the you-know-what." Samus said quietly.

"You're getting one, too, aren't you?" Luigi asked, "Oh, wait. My mistake, we get new trainees. N64 Link is the only one getting it, huh? I'd like to see what he'll look like once Dolphin gets to him."

"A lot better programmed, I think. Did you see the demo schematics the Links showed us? The Players are going to love it!" Fox replied, "Can you believe I'm getting a trainee of my very own? I can't wait to start teaching him about the Arwings and his background story!"

"Just so long as you don't get him worked up over James McCloud. He was a character for one game only." Luigi pointed out. "Anyway, I'd like to see what new game I'll be in. I hear Mario won't be the main character, just a part of the plot. Great! I step out of my brother's shadow for a while again!"

Link listened to the conversation and thought about it. What was Dolphin? What was it going to do to him?

"Pikachu. Prepare for new orders. In the next challenge you must fail. Don't fight. Let yourself be taken." he told the robot. The mouse nodded.

"_Pikachu_." he confirmed the new orders. Link sighed and looked out at the wide expanse of grass and hills. The Realm of Neutrality didn't have much in it, except for the mountain.

"So what exactly does Master Hand rule over? A bunch of gopher holes?" he muttered and lay back, looking up at the sky. A bit of hair flopped onto his face and he reached up to brush it away, catching a glimpse of the color. Red-orange and kind of wavy. "Ugh. Now that I think about it, I'd rather be blonde anytime. I kind of liked my hair color and style. More manageable." Link muttered and sighed, "Maybe I should just be glad with who I am and not try so hard to copy the other Links so much."

In another hour, the other door opened and the final team staggered out, exhausted. The ledge lifted up to the next level as the group gathered to rest and recover. Mario looked exhausted beyond reason. He could barely walk and fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the floor.

"This isn't good." Fox muttered and looked up at the doors. Each one had one symbol, just like the doors that led to the break-the-targets challenge. "That's worse." He looked over at DK, who stared at the doors with his mouth open and his finger up his nose. "And that's the worst of all."

"Uh...." DK began.

"We know! We know! You don't get it!" Link shouted in exasperation, "Instead of proving to the world what an idiot you are by opening your mouth, keep it shut and let those of us with brains figure it out!" The Nintendo fighters cracked up, laughing as DK stood there with a scowl.

"That's not funny." he grumbled as Link gave in to the contagious laughter, joining in with them. He pointed at the characters.

"They seem to think otherwise." he reported to the ape and smiled, daring DK to protest.

"First Pikachu, then Sunshine, now GB Link. Who's next?" DK muttered and stormed off to find a banana. Link just grinned and joined the other characters for dinner.


	8. First To Fall

I know I should be working on my Colosseum fic, and i swear I am, but I'm on a roll with wrapping this up and I promise to have the next chapter for BttB up soon. Plus I'll finally wrap up Universes Collided as soon as I figure out what the dialogue should be. 

Chapter Seven

Dinner was light and so was breakfast. Though no one noticed, except for the ever vigilant Link, the mysterious Polygon creatures had been coming down every night, scanning the Nintendo characters for signs of flaws, anything that could help them figure out which of them was the wrong character. When they couldn't find anything, they would fly back up to their master at the top of Tournament Mountain. Link was worried, what was the mysterious Master Hand up to way up there?

"Is it another minigame where we break more targets?" Fox yawned, "My blaster doesn't have unlimited energy, you know. I only have about five carts with me and each is only good for about a hundred shots."

"How long have we been here?" Yoshi grumbled, "It feels like ages since we've had a decent meal at Nintendo Home Base."

"About ten days, eleven if you count today." Mario muttered. Captain Falcon and Luigi stood back as the Nintendo fighters took their places around the mountain. Link looked at Pikachu. The mouse stood in front of the door leading to his room.

"Pikachu, enter the challenge. Do what I told you to do." Link whispered to the robot. The mouse nodded and entered the door, vanishing into the challenge arena. Link took a deep breath, hoped Master Hand would fall for the trick, and entered his own door. Mario gave a few practice punches to the air, then marched into his door as Luigi called out well wishes.

------------------------

Mario dropped onto a steel platform and looked around. There was a map of red spots. He looked ahead and spotted platforms with red lights.

"Board the platforms! Jump on all the platforms without falling out of the arena! Fail to light all ten and you are disqualified from the Master Tournament!" the announcer declared.

"Yeah, I think I know the drill." Mario grumbled as he raced ahead and jumped down to the first platform. He did a quick double jump to get to the next one, then looked down at the third platform. It was a little far, but if he could maneuver well enough, he could hit it. He leaped and waved his arms to steady himself. Tap! He landed safely.

"This _looks_ easy." he muttered and turned around to see the other platforms. They rose up and down fairly quickly from a strange floor. Mario eyed it and dug into his pocket, pulling out a plastic cap from a soda NES Link once bought him when he lost a bet against Mario. He dropped it out over the floor and watched it. As soon as the cap touched the floor, it was incinerated. The floor was blazing hot!

"That might hurt a little." Mario remarked sarcastically as he waited for the ledge to pop up with the platform. "Okay, it's all in the timing." He waited a few seconds longer, then leaped just as the platform popped up. He touched it and jumped again, landing on the next platform to pop up. He jumped again, landed on the next ledge and jumped a second time, landing on the black and yellow striped ledge. He panted, fighting to catch his breath. He hadn't gone against anything that hard since the Player in _Super Mario 64_ rammed him into a giant penguin by accident. He looked up at the scoreboard.

"Let's see. That would be six platforms down. Whoa. I'm almost finished! That's quick." he exclaimed and jumped down to the steel platform below him. He ran ahead, dropped down into a gap and then jumped up onto another ledge. Behind him, a wall periodically fell and rose into the ceiling. "Okay, these walls must be the things that moved the platforms on the upper level. Got it." Mario muttered as he stared out at the platform in midair before him. He watched the wall come down, then as it rose up, he dropped forward and landed stomach down on the platform. The wall came down again, but stopped a foot or so above him.

"Gee, couldn't you have cut it any closer?!" Mario yelled out in anger as it rose back up. He made a jump and scrambled to the next ledge. There, he saw a gap between him and the next ledge. No platform. "Oh, this is so not fair." he grumbled and took a deep breath. His midair jump could help him reach the next ledge, if he didn't screw up his timing. He waited for the wall to come up and then he jumped down. Just as he was right between the two ledges, Mario used another jump and grabbed onto the next ledge. He pulled himself up and then hopped down onto the next platform.

"Okay, that's eight platforms. The challenges are getting tougher. I hope we don't have anymore like this in the later levels." he muttered as he jumped up to the next steel ledge. There was a wide gap between him and a blue ledge. "Looks like I'll need to double jump again." the plumber thought aloud and leaped forward. At the peak of his jump, he did a second one and it carried him onto the blue ledge. He rested for a bit, then double jumped to the ninth platform. Jump, jump, jump! He scaled the platforms, using double jumps to help. When he reached the last one, he found that the double jump couldn't reach the last platform.

"This one's kinda tricky. Wait a second. My Jump Uppercut can act like a third jump." Mario declared, then looked worried, "But if I screw up, I'll fall and either have to start this over, or wind up out of the tournament." He stretched his legs and flexed his arms in preparation. "Okay. You can do it, Mario. You're not an Allstar for nothing, you know!" He told himself and held up a thumb's-up. "Here we go!" He double jumped up and used an uppercut at the peak of the jumps. In a flash, Mario grabbed onto the edge of the platform and climbed up, lighting it up.

"Perfect!" the announcer declared and a portal appeared below Mario. The plumber eyed it warily, then took a risk and jumped to it. He fell into the portal and was transported out of the arena.

-------------------------

Mario waited while the other characters came out from their challenges. Link limped a little as he came out of his room. Luigi gave him a worried look.

"Hey, Link! Are you okay?" Kirby called out as he headed up to the campfire Fox set up. Link nodded.

"Yeah. I just stubbed my toe on one of those platforms. It moved when I wasn't watching it." he replied as he sat down next to him.

"Yeah, you've gotta watch out for those things. They like to try to get you to screw up." Mario pointed out. Yoshi stretched his arms and looked around.

"Hey, we're still missing one more character." he remarked.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, Link. Where's Pikachu?" Samus asked just as the mountain began to shake. Everyone flattened themselves onto the ground and covered their heads.

"Earthquake!" DK shouted. A clap of thunder sounded, booming overhead. Link cried in pain. None of the elder Links had him ready for loud noises, it was something he couldn't handle. Suddenly, there was a screaming.

"_PIKAAAA_!" Pikachu's voice screeched and was swallowed by Masters Hand's laughter. The Nintendo fighters sat up in horror as the mountain stopped shuddering violently.

"Looks like one of your friends has failed the challenge! One down, seven to go! Ha, ha, ha! My first new slave has just arrived! I think I'll wait until I have the rest of you before I begin brainwashing. That way, you'll have the pleasure of watching your other comrades fall one by one!" the evil lord taunted and laughed again, his voice fading after a little bit.

"Oh, no! Not Pikachu! We just barely got him settled into Nintendo's routine!" Samus cried tearfully. The others expressed anger and sorrow in their own ways. Link stepped back away from the group and tightened his mouth.

"Okay. Step three is done. Now for step four. I've got to survive this tournament and get all the way up to Master Hand so Pikachu and I can beat him!" he muttered, "I only hope no one falls for real."

**Fox Versus Kirby Team**

That night, the Nintendo fighters slept uneasily, knowing one of their own was trapped somewhere. Link slept the same way, worried about his own plan and hoping he wouldn't fail his friends. Plagued with nightmares of his own failure and inferiority, Link tossed and turned in his sleep, moaning softly.

--------------------

_The three Links stood on the stage in the home computer, ready to reveal their latest addition to the series. Everyone waited in anticipation, eager to see the new Link step in and take command for the Nintendo 64 series of Zelda games._

_"After many days of deliberation and experimentation, we heroes of the Legend of Zelda series have decided to change the appearance of the new Link. The new era of games should have a new era of Links and this will be the first of that new era." GB Link had declared in his speech, causing every Nintendo character to have their jaws drop open in shock. They had dared to stray from the routine look and make a whole new Link?! **Again?!** Were they insane? "We present to you, and to the Players of the Realm of Humanity, Nintendo 64 Link, star of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time!" GB Link exclaimed and stepped out of the way, bringing aside a red curtain to reveal the latest addition._

_N64 Link stood timidly on the stage, dressed in his best Kokiri tunic and Deku shield, his Kokiri sword shined up bright. His blonde hair was brushed and styled neatly, with his solid green cap snug on his head. He looked out at the audience with bright blue eyes full of shy eagerness, a sort of excitement that made him look as if he could burst into laughter at any moment. With a perky, slightly pointed nose, and a hand up to his mouth as if to suck on his thumb, the new Link was actually cute, giving him that innocent quality that made you want to like the guy, despite the fact that he was a little boy instead of the preteens the other Links were designed to be._

_"Loser." someone coughed as the whole place was set in silence. N64 Link shrank a little, the eagerness quickly replaced by hurt. Why did someone call him a loser? What had he done?_

_"Um... GB Link?" Allstar Luigi asked hesitantly, "Not to sound cruel or anything but... is that some kind of joke? Do you really think that Players will accept that... well, accept him as the new Link? Especially after your last attempt at a new Link design?" GB Link looked slightly confused, then irritated, as N64 Link began to cry and ran to NES Link, hugging his leg and hiding his face._

_"What do you mean? The Programmers agreed that Trainee Link's new design will help the N64 and the new game. Players who have enjoyed the Zelda series will accept him once they get a feel for him in the game. And please don't bring up that first attempt again." GB Link replied. NES Link picked up the trainee and hugged him, then set him down and gave him a gentle nudge forward. N64 Link didn't want to be put in the spotlight. "Okay, Link. Give them the speech you worked out." GB Link told him gently._

_He didn't want to. Someone made fun of him and Luigi couldn't think of him as a person, as a Link. They said he was a joke. That he wasn't the real Link designed for the N64. But the other Links said to give the speech, so he began in a shy, soft voice._

_"Um, hello. My... my name is Trainee Link and I'm going to be the N64 Link for this season." he started hesitantly._

_"Loser." another character coughed. GB Link looked out at the audience with a cold glare. N64 Link paused, fighting back tears. Why were they calling him that? What was wrong with him? Did he do or say something wrong?_

_"I hope I'll live up to the standards set by my teachers and make them proud." N64 Link went on, tracing circles on the floor with the toe of one boot in a nervous manner. "I... I'll do my very best to be a good Link in the game...."_

_"Who does he think he is? A Link? How can he be a Link? He doesn't even look like them!" someone whispered, but Link's ears picked up the words. He gasped sharply, freezing in place as he looked out at the crowd, eyes wide. Was that what was wrong with him? He wasn't a Link because of his looks?_

_"...SoIcanmakeyouallproud. Thankyouverymuch." he hurried and fled the stage. NES Link grabbed him as he raced off and held him in a hug as the crowd clapped tentatively._

_"It's okay. They'll get used to you, Link. Give them time. Don't let them get to you. Once they see the you we see, they will know that you truly are a Link to be proud of." the elder hero whispered to him, smoothing back his hair and rocking him back and forth. The damage had been done already. N64 Link began to reject his own image. He wasn't a real Link. He was just some kid who looked a little like them, but not enough to deserve the name. He was different from the real Links and, so, didn't deserve the name. He would never fit in, never be accepted by the Players. N64 Link sobbed as he was carried away and GB Link proceeded to yell at the crowd for insulting them and the new Link. He wasn't Link, he was a mistake, a waste of the Links' time and efforts._

_A mistake._

-----------------

Morning dawned and the group had breakfast, quiet in silent sorrow over the loss of Pikachu. Link sat far from them, dark circles under his eyes and a sort of withdrawn look on his face, as if he weren't quite 'there'. The others watched him for a bit.

"What's with GB Link? I've never seen him look like that before." Fox muttered.

"Creepy. He looks like he's ready to drop dead." Yoshi added, "I hope he doesn't. He's the only one who can keep N64 Link from tearing out his hair or swallowing Peach's perfume."

"Which Peach?" Kirby asked.

"All of them! Any Peach's perfume he can get his hands on, he tries to drink it." Mario replied.

"That's nuts. Whoever heard of a suicidal Link?" Fox muttered.

"You think it might have something to do with that hazing we gave him when he first came out?" Luigi asked softly. Fox shook his head.

"No way. We always haze the new guys. You did it to me when I was first introduced to the lineup. I came out fine." Fox pointed out. Kirby snorted and laughed.

"Yeah, right! _'Oh, Father! Father! They're attacking my name and voice! I can't stand these people, Father! Why did I have to be programmed with a voice?_'" he acted out, faking a devastated look on his face. Fox threw a boot at him.

"Hey! Shut up!" he growled, "That's not funny!"

"Oh, yes it is!" Kirby laughed and fell over in laughter. Mario shook his head and sighed.

"All right. That's enough, you two. We're on the next level, so let's deal with the next opponent." he declared and stood up, looking over his friends, "And please, each of you, be careful! We've lost Pikachu. Let's not lose any more people. We have to beat Master Hand and rescue him so we can all go home." The Nintendo fighters nodded grimly and took their places around the mountain.

"Aw man! We're fighting copies of me next?" Kirby wailed, then blinked. "Hey, if it has my copy power, and it sucks me in to copy me, doesn't that make his power kind of pointless since he already has my powers?" he wondered aloud.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, Blobby. Get in there and fight!" Fox snapped before marching into his doorway.

--------------------------------

Fox leaped out of his Arwing and landed on the tiny, wooded field. There were three platforms above him. The announcer's voice rang out. For some reason, it sounded more triumphant this time.

"Eighth battle for Fox McCloud! Fox versus Kirby Team!" the announcer declared, "Three, two, one, GO!" Two Kirbys dropped onto a couple of the platforms. One had a Mario hat and the other was dressed up like DK. Fox jumped up and kicked through the top platform, knocking the Mario Kirby into the air.

"Gotcha! Those little costumes won't help you! I'll knock you off like I did the Yoshi Team!" he laughed and turned to see the DK Kirby punch him hard in the stomach. Fox was sent flying backwards, tumbling along the ground. He dug in his fingers and managed to stay on the arena. "Yow! What was that?!" he exclaimed after catching his breath. M. Kirby landed on the arena and the two Kirbys grinned.

"We're much stronger than the Yoshi Team. It'll take more than a punch or kick to get rid of us!" they said in unison. Fox got to his feet and jumped up to avoid a fireball attack from M. Kirby. "Give it up, Fox! We captured Pikachu! Now we'll capture you!" Fox leaped down on the Mario Kirby and began to kick as fast as he could, building up damage on him. DK Kirby came up from behind, his Super Punch charged up and ready to fire. Fox flicked an ear, then leaped straight up as he let the fist fly. Mario Kirby was slammed out of the arena, defeated by its own comrade. The remaining Kirby looked startled, then furious as a new Kirby came down to take its place. This time, it wore a green hat with yellow-green brim, Link's hat.

"Great. A DK Kirby, and now a Link Kirby." Fox muttered as a Poké Ball dropped from the sky. He raced forward, feinted a kick and jumped up to the platform. He grabbed it, jumped again to avoid the winds now being blown by the center tree, and hurled it down. The ball burst open and a Hitmonlee popped out. It jumped and kicked the Link Kirby, throwing it up into the air so Fox could give it a mid-air side kick and throw it off the arena. While the Link Kirby began to puff its way back onto the platforms, Fox jumped down to deal with the DK Kirby.

"You may have tricked me into defeating one of my kind, but you will still fail. As long as we are together, we are invincible!" the two Kirbys shouted. Fox stuck his tongue out at them.

"Talk, talk, talk! That's all you do! Quit yapping and start fighting! I'm not done yet, so try and take me out!" he taunted and charged at them. DK Kirby began to charge up another Super Punch while the Link Kirby landed and threw out a boomerang. Fox activated his deflector shield, bounced it back and slid a kick into the two of them. Link Kirby jumped and used a Rock Drop attack on him, throwing Fox across the floor. He scrabbled to get up and flipped onto a platform just as the Link Kirby used a Final Cutter attack on the spot where he had been. The DK Kirby followed him and gave a hard punch. Again, Fox dodged, twisted and gave him a hard kick. He landed on the bottom of the arena and began to open fire with his blaster, shooting any Kirbys that came at him. The scoreboard continued to show the damage meters climbing.

"You cannot hope to win this round, Fox! You will fail!" the Kirbys yelled as yet another item fell to the platforms.

"I seriously doubt that." Fox sneered and jumped up to grab the Hammer item. It came to life, slamming away as Fox followed it around in shock. "Whoa! It's possessed! Help!" he yelped and jumped down. The two Kirbys looked startled, then scrambled to get away. Too late. The Hammer smashed them, sending both Kirbys flying into the force field. Another pair of Kirbys came down to face Fox, one with a Samus suit and the other with a Yoshi hat. The Yoshi Kirby landed right on the Hammer and was knocked upwards. Fox jumped to follow it and the Hammer smashed it again. Samus Kirby began to charge up his gun as the Hammer expired and set Fox free. He fired and Fox spun around, turning on the shield and bouncing the shot back at it.

"You will fail! We are all-powerful! You can't win!" the Samus Kirby shouted at the same time as the Yoshi Kirby. The second Kirby landed and Fox jumped up, giving it a kick that slammed it into the Samus Kirby.

"Shut up!" he snapped as the two collided. They came apart and both used Final Cutters, Samus Kirby hitting Yoshi Kirby in the process. Fox was thrown back by the force of the blow and almost went over the edge.

"Fire Fox!" he shouted and activated a jetpack that boosted him back onto the arena. "You almost got me that time! But almost only counts in _Mario Golf_!" Fox barked at the twin fighters and fired his blaster again. More items fell from the sky, a tomato and a Star Rod. He jumped up, gulped down the tomato and grabbed the rod. The Kirbys tried another Final Cutter team-up, but Yoshi Kirby took more damage and Fox only jumped up to avoid it. Once he landed, he brandished the rod. "Now let's get down to business!" he yelled and swung the rod hard. A star flew out from it and slammed Yoshi Kirby, sending it flying. Samus Kirby fired its shot, which was blocked by another star from the Star Rod. In the midst of the explosion, Fox raced forward and slammed the rod into Samus Kirby, throwing it over onto its back. Fox dropped the rod, grabbed Samus Kirby and hurled him off into the distance. He grabbed the Star Rod again and turned to face the next pair of Kirbys. One came down wearing a helmet just like his, with a pair of fox ears on his head!

"Hey! You've got my attacks!" Fox exclaimed as the Pikachu Kirby dropped down behind him.

"Precisely. That is why you cannot defeat us!" they exclaimed. Pikachu Kirby fired an electric bolt while Fox Kirby fired a blaster shot. Fox jumped straight up and let the attacks hit the two Kirbys.

"Wrong again, marshmallow men!" he growled and swung the rod hard, sending a flurry of stars at both copies. When the rod ran out of power, he threw it at the Fox Kirby. The copies flew off the arena, but still had enough energy to float back to it. Meanwhile, Fox stood, trying to regain his strength and catch his breath. This fight was harder than he thought. As soon as the Fox Kirby came close, Fox jumped and punched it hard, slamming it to the force field.

"Curse you!" the Pikachu Kirby squeaked as it tried to swallow more air.

"Ooh, I'm scared! The puffy rubber ball cursed me! I'm really gonna get it now!" Fox taunted and waited for another item to drop. A crate fell and Fox jumped down to shoot at it. Experience told him some of them were booby trapped. The crate blew open, revealing a baseball bat, a Bob-omb, and a heart container. Fox grabbed the heart container, was immediately re-energized and refreshed, then grabbed the Bob-omb, chucking it over the edge of the arena. "I don't want to deal with that." he muttered and grabbed the Home Run Bat. He faced the Pikachu Kirby, waving the bat. "Okay! Let's play ball!" he laughed and urged the copy to charge him. A second Kirby dropped onto the field, this one uncostumed.

"You will not defeat us! We will triumph over you!" the Kirbys bellowed angrily. Fox snorted and charged the Pikachu Kirby.

"You keep saying that, but it won't happen! You guys talk too much!" he shrieked and swung the bat so hard, it sparkled. The wood connected with the Kirby, slamming it into the force field for an instant KO. He turned on the final Kirby. "Your turn, Puffcheeks!" he snapped.

"Here I come!" Kirby yelled and raced forward. Fox swung the bat, but Kirby put up a shield and rolled underneath, coming up behind Fox. He went into a series of lightning fast punches as Fox whirled around. The fighter was pummeled over and over as Kirby went on punching at high speed. Finally, he was thrown backwards, tumbling through the air and slamming onto the floor. He struggled to get up, then lay still. Kirby grinned and laughed. "As I said before, you will not defeat me!" he declared and waddled over to his fallen opponent.

"And I said it wouldn't happen! Gotcha now, Blubberbutt!" Fox yelled, jumping up suddenly and swinging the bat. The Kirby was caught off guard and slammed into the force field before he could even cry out in shock.

"Kirby Team defeated! The battle goes to Fox!" the announcer declared, "Hostage being released!" Fox perked up an ear and watched as a metal box was dropped onto the arena. He circled it warily, sniffing at it. Then, he knocked on the door. No answer. Scratching his head, Fox opened the door and looked inside.

A Poké Ball was set in the middle of the floor of the box. Fox picked it up, puzzled, then tossed it out in front of him. The ball burst open and a Jigglypuff popped out with an angry look on her face.

"Okay! Who's the wise guy what pulled me out of the game in Pokémon Blue before I got the chance to level up?!" she grumbled. Fox grinned slightly, reminded of the loss of Pikachu.

"You must be the Jigglypuff that was kidnapped. And it was Master Hand that grabbed you and the rest of us." he replied. Jigglypuff blinked at him and thought it over. "I freed you when I defeated his evil copies. We're in a tournament to defeat Master Hand, free ourselves, and save the Realm of Humanity and the home base from his invasion."

"Oh. A rescue mission, eh? Okay. Count me in!" she declared and puffed herself up a little. "I can take on any challenge! Bring 'em on, Master Plant!" she declared.

"Uh, that's Master Hand. And, you're not in the tournament, just the Allstars and some others, myself included." Fox pointed out bluntly. Jigglypuff blinked again and let go of her breath, making a noise with her tongue as she did.

"Oh, poo! And I wanted to get some exercise too!" she whined and sighed, "All right, then. Up and at 'em, Fox! Let's get going!" she added and looked up at him. "Which way do we go?"

"Through that portal." Fox replied, pointing at the white exit. Jigglypuff twirled around and marched through the portal, Fox following behind and wondering if he should have left her in the cage after all.


	9. Goodbye, Samus

Chapter Eight

Everyone was exhausted as the ledge moved up. Mario gave Jigglypuff her bow, explained the situation, then let her cry on his lap when she learned about Pikachu. Link was already fast asleep, too tired to talk to anyone about his fight. The Allstars wanted to ask how his first fight was like for him, 'first' because they all thought he was GB Link. He gave them all a tight-mouthed look, the 'Link Lock', then sat down and dozed off, leaning against the mountain. The doors had changed. Where there once had been eight doors, there were now seven. Pikachu's door was completely gone.

"Makes sense. If a fighter isn't here, then there's no need for them to have his door still here." Samus remarked and stretched. "We'll get him back. In the meantime, let's catch some z's. I'm bushed and I need my beauty rest."

"Link's way ahead of ya. He's out like a light." Yoshi added with a grin. The group curled up and drifted off to sleep, recovering for their next difficult match.

--------------------

"What do you mean they got another one?!" Master Hand bellowed at the Polygon servant. It blubbered fearfully, trying to think of an explanation. "And did you find the wrong character?!" The Polygon blubbered more. "NO?! Then DIE!" Master Hand blasted the creature with one of his attacks. The Polygon shattered into a hundred pieces as the others watched in fear. "Find me that character and bring him to me, or the rest of you will meet the same fate as this fool! You have a choice! Either the wrong character takes my wrath, or you do! Get moving!" The Polygons rushed off, frantic. Master Hand looked at Pikachu, who stood in a glass capsule in front of him, pounding his paws on the glass and yelling, "_Pika_, _pika_!"

"You can't escape me now. I have you and soon, your friends will be in those capsules next to you. Once I have them all, I will begin my plans of conquest. And once I have the fraudulent character, I will CRUSH him!" Master Hand laughed evilly.

---------------------

Morning brought the Nintendo fighters their next challenge. Each door had their symbols and a lightning bolt. Samus frowned and folded her arms on her chest.

"Figures. Have the woman go last. Everyone will be against my copy, huh? Well, bring it on! I can take my mirror image with both hands tied behind my back!" she declared.

"I'd be careful what I wish for in this freaky tournament." Yoshi muttered, "Master Hand might indulge you and tie you up for a laugh."

"Once we get past this level, there shouldn't be anymore challenges. After all, we started with eight fighters. We fought seven copies and this will be the eighth." Mario remarked. Fox snorted.

"Shouldn't. And we're down to seven fighters now." he grumbled. Captain Falcon, Luigi, and Jigglypuff watched the group take their places around the mountaintop and enter the doors.

"I should be fighting this tournament and not my dear Samus. I should be the one to defeat Master Hand in the name of my beloved bounty hunter!" the racer declared, shaking his fist passionately. Luigi gave him an annoyed look.

"Give it up. Sit on that rock and be quiet." he ordered. Captain Falcon drooped and went to sit on the rock, grumbling under his breath.

------------------------------

Samus stepped out of her portal and looked around in shock at the arena. It looked just like planet Zebes from her games, the planet where she went to hunt down the Metroids. This was to be her arena? What about the lava down below? She looked down and saw it swell and bubble, as if it as ready to rise up and swallow the small island of platforms and land.

"This can't be a good sign." Samus muttered as her copy entered the arena the same way she did.

"It wasn't meant to be good, Samus. You shall fall in this challenge. You were lucky the first few rounds, but now your luck's run out!" the copy yelled and fired an energy hookshot at her as soon as the announcer declared the match to begin. Samus leaped up onto a platform and began to charge up her gun. The clone began to charge hers up as well. Then she jumped up and fired it at Samus before she could put up her shield. Samus twisted in midair and jumped back onto the land. The arena began to rumble and the swelling grew bigger.

"This is bad!" Samus exclaimed and raced to another platform, scrambling to safe ground just as the acid rose and swallowed the land below her. Clone Samus went back to charging as an item fell from the sky, a barrel. Samus jumped to it and lifted it up. "Here! Maybe this will help your plans!" she yelled and hurled it at the copy, throwing her out of her charging and blasting her into the lava. As the acid tossed her up and down, adding damage to her meter, Samus ran down and collected the item that fell out. A motion detector bomb had appeared and she threw it right where she was, then raced to the top platform. Clone Samus returned to the platforms, leaped over the booby trap, and resumed attacking Samus.

"You thought you could get me with that trick?!" she screamed and went into a Superspin attack, punching and knocking Samus around for a few hits. Then she slammed her onto the platform. Samus lay in pain, then rolled away from the onslaught of bombs that the clone dropped on her.

"Hey! That's my specialty!" Samus exclaimed as she scrambled to stay away from her clone and the rising lava. The acid bubbled, then fell back below the arena. She jumped down to open some space between herself and the evil Samus. As she did, the lava rose right back up again. Samus gasped. "No! Oh no!" she screamed as she was thrown up and slammed into the booby trap. Clone Samus laughed as she was thrown high into the air.

"Your end has come, Samus Aran! Master Hand will take control of your games!" she crowed. Samus flew higher and higher, uncontrollably spinning head over heels until she hit the force field. Screaming in pain, Samus writhed on the field that zapped her suit and held her tight.

"No, no, no! Let me go! Let me go!" she screamed as she began to disappear into the force field, transported to Master Hand's special capture capsules. "Captain Falcon! Mario! Link! Help me! Help! Help!" she screamed out her last words, then vanished.

"Samus defeated!" the announcer declared triumphantly, "Samus Aran disqualified from the remainder of the Master Tournament!" Clone Samus grinned evilly and left through the portal to return to the top of Tournament Mountain.

----------------

The mountain shook again when Samus hit the force field. The fighters all look startled and horrified. Link held onto the floor, gritting his teeth.

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" he told himself, "No one else was supposed to fall! Who could it be?!"

"Don't tell me another one bit the dust!" Yoshi exclaimed as thunder rumbled. Master Hand laughed in triumph as the Nintendo characters looked around to see who was missing now.

"I have another of your friends, Allstars!" Master Hand laughed and Samus' voice could be heard screaming in rage.

"Samus! My beautiful bounty hunter!" Capt. Falcon screamed in fury, "Release my beloved Samus, you infidel! Or prepare to face the wrath of the great Captain Falcon!"

"What are you gonna do, huh?" Fox growled, "Shake your fist and make a lot of scary faces? That's about all you can do, chump."

"The lovely Samus Aran is now my prisoner! And soon, all of you will follow suit!" Master Hand declared, "Now, tell me the name of the incorrect character! Who among you is not a popular game character?!"

"We're all the most popular characters! Even if one of us is the wrong one, we won't tell you!" Mario shouted angrily. Samus' door vanished from the mountainside and the other characters emerged from the arenas to learn what had happened. Master Hand laughed again and the mountain shook a second time.

"This can't be a good thing." Luigi muttered. The group stared in shock as Kirby's door vanished as well. The puffy fighter's voice was then heard, shouting and screaming from high above.

"Looks like another of your fighters has fallen! And so quickly too.... It appears that you are growing weaker and weaker! Soon you will all be my slaves!" With that, the shaking ended and the sounds of laughter and thunder faded away. Link unplugged his ears and looked up angrily at the faraway mountain peak.

"Just you wait, Master Hand. When Pikachu and I reach you, you'll regret messing with Nintendo!" he growled under his breath. The level rose again to another section of the mountain. The battle wasn't over yet....


	10. Good Riddance, DK!

Chapter Nine

Morning dawned on the group as they prepared for their next challenge. The symbols above the doors confused them. A mushroom? Hadn't they fought the Mario Brothers already?

"This time, **I** don't get it." Link muttered, thoroughly confused by the new challenge.

"We already fought Mario and Luigi. There are no other Nintendo fighters with that symbol." Fox muttered. DK looked happy.

"All right! I get to beat up on another mushroom man! Plumber pancakes, here I come!" he whooped and raced into the door marked for him before anyone could stop him.

"What a dork! He charges in without even knowing what could happen? If he falls, I'm gonna laugh." Yoshi declared spitefully. Link looked up at the mountain. They seemed closer to the top now. Clouds still covered the tip, but some of those clouds also touched the ledge.

"We're almost there. I just hope we don't lose anymore fighters." he whispered and entered his door.

"I have a feeling this won't be an easy fight either." Mario muttered as he went in. Yoshi soon followed, leaving Luigi, Jigglypuff, and Captain Falcon behind to hope no one fell in the future matches.

--------------------

"Ninth battle for Donkey Kong!" the announcer declared as DK erupted from his barrel, "Donkey Kong versus Metal Mario! Ready, set, GO!" The arena was made of crystal, the base platform hovered high above the force field below them and had a slightly wavy floor. Above it was a small platform. On the platform, a green pipe rose up and from it came a metal copy of Mario!

"Oh, so that's why they said Metal Mario." DK remarked and grinned, "No problem! I can beat the stuffing out of the other Mario, I'll just do the same to you!"

"That's what you think, Banana Brain." Metal Mario rasped and began to walk back and forth on the platform, waiting for DK to attack.

"What are you doing?! You're just gonna walk around up there like some wind up toy?!" DK shouted angrily. Metal Mario grinned and nodded. DK matched the grin. "Well, then. Don't mind if I throw in a few quick punches!" With that, he jumped up onto the platform and began to pummel the metallic entity. Metal Mario took the abuse easily, then suddenly countered with a Jumping Uppercut once he took thirty points of damage.

"Hey! I thought you were just gonna walk around!" DK whined as he recovered from the attack. Metal Mario smiled, diamond-like teeth shining at him.

"Changed my mind." he hissed and began to walk around on the bottom platform. DK growled and jumped down, punching and kicking to raise his damage points. "Stupid ape." Metal Mario laughed and used a Whirlwind Attack to knock DK around, before slamming him onto the bottom platform. DK's damage meter rose to forty points as he tried to pick Metal Mario up and carry him to the edge.

"Oh man! You must weigh a ton!" DK gasped as he lumbered along with him, "Oh, my aching back!" Metal Mario struggled.

"This will not work, stupid ape." he informed the ape.

"Let's find out!" DK yelled and threw Metal Mario over the side of the platform. The robot used a jump and double jump to get on board again, then pulled DK into another Whirlwind. "Hey! You're as heavy as a rock! How did you get back up?!" DK yelled in shock.

"I'm much more powerful than the first Mario copy! You can not defeat me!" Metal Mario declared as a crate dropped onto the field. DK jumped up and punched the box, releasing two Poké Balls and a beam sword. He grabbed a ball, threw it, grabbed another, threw it, then grabbed the sword.

"Let's see you handle a Hitmonlee and an Onix at the same time, ya freak!" Donkey Kong shouted as he jumped down to face the metallic monster. The Hitmonlee kicked at Metal Mario, adding another few hit points, while Onix shot up into the sky with a roar. DK began to whack at Metal Mario with the sword. The damage meter rose steadily higher, and rocks began to drop onto the field. None of the attacks fazed Metal Mario, though.

"Foolish ape. You have no idea of the power you are facing." he laughed and pulled DK into yet another Whirlwind Attack, followed by a Jumping Uppercut. Dizzy and dazed, DK fell onto the platform with nearly eighty points of damage on his meter.

"Hey.... I thought I was winning...." he babbled woozily as Metal Mario jumped up to face him.

"As I said, you will fail. Now the time has come for you to meet your new master!" the robot declared and sucked DK into another Whirlwind. The ape began to scream and shriek in rage, then was slammed high into the air by the Jumping Uppercut. "You were a pathetic fighter." the evil copy declared as DK hit the force field and writhed in agony.

"You metal freak! You cheated! You didn't play fair! I want a rematch!" DK shouted as the field began to suck him in and transport him, "I want a rematch! I can take ya! No! Stop! Lemme gooooo!" DK's wails were cut off as he vanished into the field. Metal Mario smiled again.

"Donkey Kong defeated!" the announcer declared, voice filled with glee, "Donkey Kong disqualified from the remainder of the Master Tournament!" Metal Mario turned and exited the room through the portal that appeared.

---------------------

Meanwhile, Fox was doing his best to get Metal Mario's damage meter higher. With a flurry of kicks, Fox watched in satisfaction as the meter grew deeper in color and totaled higher and higher. 230%, 240%, a little more and Fox could shove him over again.

"You can not defeat me! I am more powerful than the first Mario copy!" Metal Mario raged as Fox kept a grip on the Green Shell in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah! Tell it to someone who cares!" Fox panted out and finally slammed the shell into the metallic monster. Metal Mario was thrown over the edge. He tried to get back up with a jump, double jump, and Jumping Uppercut combo, but Fox knew about that trick and was ready for it. "Miss me?" Fox laughed as he used a side kick to throw him off again. Having used up his last jump, Metal Mario could only fall, screaming in a fury as he hit the force field and was destroyed.

"Metal Mario defeated! The match goes to Fox!" the announcer declared, "Warning! Hostage being released!" A cage dropped onto the platform as Fox covered his head. The cage began to make noise.

"Hey! Hey! Somebody! Anybody! Get me outta this stupid thing!!" a young boy's voice yelled out. Fox brightened and ran up to free the prisoner.

"Ness! Ness, it's me, Fox! Hang on!" Fox cried and opened the door. Ness, a boy with a red cap, purple and yellow striped shirt, purple shorts, red sneakers, and brown backpack, stumbled out of the cage.

"Man! My psychic powers didn't even pick up on the creep that nailed me!" he exclaimed as Fox handed him his missing yo-yo. "Where the heck are we?!"

"A place called the Realm of Neutrality, and some creep named Master Hand kidnapped us and a bunch of other characters." Fox replied, "Come on. Let's get out of here and I'll be able to fill you in on what's up." Just as the two of them got ready to jump through the portal, the mountain shook again, shaking the arena. "Hey! What's up?!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Another one bites the dust! Your fighter force is dwindling, Allstars! Tell me the identity of the wrong character!" Master Hand's voice boomed out. Ness clutched Fox's hand tightly, eyes wide with shock.

"Who is that?!" he asked. Fox growled angrily.

"That's Master Hand, the one who nabbed us! And it sounds like another Nintendo character failed the battle. Who was it?" he muttered.

"You cheated!" DK's voice shrieked aloud before the shaking stopped and the booming sounds ended. Fox sighed and shook his head.

"Why does that not surprise me?" he asked himself as he and Ness exited the arena.

--------------------

Outside, the remaining fighters greeted Ness somberly and looked at each other. Only four fighters remained from the original eight that began the tournament. The challenges were getting harder to overcome. Fox looked at Yoshi, who stood in a daze.

"Well? Aren't you going to laugh? You said you'd laugh if DK fell." he pointed out. Yoshi glanced at him.

"That was before this tournament killed my sense of humor." the dino replied softly, "We're losing. Big time."


	11. Race to the Finish!

Chapter Ten

Night came and went and the Nintendo fighters grew even more worried as they circled the mountain. There were four doors now and the circles above the doors hinted at another challenge that stood between them and Master Hand.

"I am so paranoid now, I can't stand it." Fox muttered, staring up at his door. "We started with eight, and now we're down to four! Four! We're gonna die!" he began to panic.

"Shut up! No one's gonna die! Stay focused! We _will_ beat this creep!" Link shouted at him and entered his door. Fox gulped and looked over at Mario. Luigi gave his brother a tight hug, then watched him enter the door. He went to sit with Captain Falcon and helped Jigglypuff and Ness try to comfort him over the loss of Samus.

"I should have been the one to fight instead of my beautiful Samus! Why?! WHY?!" he blubbered. Yoshi sighed sadly and stepped into his door. Fox was the only one left to enter the doorway and take the new challenge.

"Okay, Fox. Stay cool. Stay calm. You can do this. You have plenty of ammo left." Fox told himself and walked into his door. "I hope."

-----------------------

"Race to the finish! Make it to the finish line in under forty-five seconds!" the announcer declared when Fox appeared. Fox gulped and got ready to run. "Ready? GO!" Fox raced forward, sprinting down the walkway as fast as he could.

"A race? No sweat!" he panted and yelped when a strange purple creature that looked like it was made of crystal charged him. It moved exactly like him! "Hey! What's that?!" The creature leaped into a running kick exactly like his own as it raced at him. Fox jumped and flipped over the creature, then continued onwards. "That's crazy! That thing moves like me, runs like me, and even attacks like me!" he declared as he jumped over a wall in front of him to reach the second level. "What if those things were disguised as us when we were in the arenas?! I bet that's what was fighting us all along! Those purple things!"

The second level had a pipe dropping rolling black barrels down it towards Fox. He glanced up at the clock, thirteen and a half seconds so far. He was making good time. Fox leaped over the first barrel, then the next and the next. The barrels kept coming and Fox had to dodge them. He raced under the pipe before it could drop a barrel on him, then leaped down the third level. As he jumped down, another purple creature jumped up to attack him. This one moved like Samus! Fox drilled it down, then used it as a launch pad to get him into the next part of the obstacle course. A jungle of bumpers blocked his way.

"Aw man! That's so not fair!" Fox exclaimed and rolled under the first bumper, leaped over the next and carefully but quickly made his way through them. With twenty seconds already up, Fox soared up and over the wall to drop onto the fourth and final platform. A large purple creature lumbered after him as Fox scampered towards a glowing doorway at the end of the hall. Fox looked back over his shoulder as he panted.

"Let me guess. That thing must have been modeled after Donkey Kong." he sighed and ran even faster. Finally, he threw himself into the doorway with twenty-seven seconds on the clock.

"Perfect!" the announcer declared as Fox began to vanish into the light. He panted, tongue out and wagging.

"Oh sure! Nothing... to it! It was... easy! Piece... of cake!" he gasped out and collapsed, transported out of the arena.

-----------------------

Everyone was exhausted when they emerged from the arenas. Luigi, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff and Ness stared down at the Nintendo fighters as they crawled about the incredibly wide platform. Fox dragged himself everywhere.

"My legs.... My legs...! The race crippled me!" he gasped. Mario flopped about like a fish out of water, his face as red as his shirt.

"I'm not in shape for this!" he wheezed. Luigi cringed and silently thanked the heavens he wasn't in the tournament. Yoshi was sprawled out on the floor, his long tongue fully unfurled on the ground. He didn't care if it got coated in dust and dirt, he wanted to rest his aching feet.

"I take it this was a tougher challenge than you originally thought." Jigglypuff remarked flatly. Link dragged himself over to Captain Falcon, pulling himself along by the fingertips. He reached up to him and the driver leaned back, wary and creeped out. Link looked up at him, looking as if he'd been tortured.

"Help... meee... pleeease!" he wheezed out and dropped forward onto his face, hand stretched out on the ground where it dropped. Capt. Falcon scooched away. "Ow."

"You guys need a break. Master Hand's wearing you out." Ness told them. The group all looked up at them. Mario lay on his stomach, not moving an inch.

"Can't... move... legs!" he rasped out, "Can't... feel... legs!" Capt. Falcon snorted disdainfully.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" he declared, "A little exercise never hurt anyone!" The exhausted fighters slowly turned their heads to stare at him. "It couldn't have been that bad! I, the great Captain Falcon, can withstand much more than a simple race to the finish line!" Link raised an eyebrow, as if confused. Mario blinked twice and dropped his head down, passed out. Fox strained to reach his blaster, hand trembling from effort and exhaustion.

"Come here, Captain Falcon...." he said in a shaky voice, one eye twitching and one corner of a forced smile trembling, "Come here for a second.... I want to share something with you, buddy...." Captain Falcon blinked at him. Luigi snapped his fingers near Mario's ear.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Cap." the plumber remarked without even looking up from his brother, "You might end up losing your helmet again, and the head that goes with it, too."

"Shut up, Luigi." Fox managed to say in a somewhat calm voice even though his face was still spazzing, "C'mere, pal.... I won't bite.... I promise...."

It took a few hours, but soon all the fighters were back on their feet again. They ate more rations as they began to figure out what the next challenge would be. Beside their symbols were exclamation marks. They didn't know what it meant.

"I don't like it." Fox grumbled as he chewed his food. Link frowned at the symbols.

"I never liked this stupid tournament since the beginning." he growled as he stabbed at his bowl of stew. Everyone stared at him.

"But... you weren't there at the very beginning." Yoshi pointed out. Link blinked, blushed, and locked up his mouth again. They finished eating, rested a bit more, then got up to enter the next challenge, unaware of what they were about to face.


	12. Anticipation of Combat

Chapter Eleven

Link entered the arena and looked around for some idea of what was going to happen. Three platforms hovered above him, set over a small island floating in some strange dimensional space. He drew his sword and prepared to fight.

"Tenth battle for Link! Link versus Fighting Polygon Team!" the announcer declared as three crystallized fighters dropped onto the arena. Link glanced at them and gasped. They looked just like the creatures that had beaten him up at the very beginning of the tournament! "Three, two, one, GO!" The three fighters began to leap around as Link jumped up to attack.

"What are you things?! You move like us and fight like us!" he shouted angrily. The fighters laughed as they attempted to gang up on him.

"_We are Polygons, jewel creatures of Master Hand's creating! We live to serve the great Master Hand! You shall fall and join your comrades in slavery!_" they declared. Link glanced up at the scoreboard and yelped softly. There was a whole gang of Polygons in the match! Master Hand really was cheating! "_You now have to deal with thirty of us! Master Hand has lost his patience and demands the identity of the fake Allstar!_" they went on.

"Well, you're not gonna find out from me!" Link snapped and whacked the DK Polygon out of the match. Another one came down to take his place and the battle heated up. Though they were easily knocked off of the arena, some Polygons had the abilities of the other characters to return to the platform. There were even some modeled after the kidnapped characters! By watching the attacks of the Polygons, Link learned to recognize which Polygon represented which Nintendo character.

"_Master Hand will take his rightful place as ruler of the Realm of Humanity and the Realm of Games! You can not stop him! This tournament was merely to serve its purpose as entertainment for our lord!_" the Polygons taunted Link. Items fell and they even managed to use some against Link.

"You guys made the big mistake of messing with Nintendo characters! We won't let you threaten the Players! Not when they mean the world to us!" Link shouted and cried in shock when one Polygon knocked another Polygon into the force field just to get at him. "You even destroy your own comrades?! What kind of monsters are you?!"

"_It matters not to us if we kill our own kind! We will achieve our master's goal at any cost! This makes us strong, and you weak!_" the Polygons declared, dropping around Link as he jumped and ran to avoid their attacks.

"That's what you think! That attitude is the reason why you all will lose this match! You're down to twenty fighters already! And I've only got thirty points of damage!" Link declared with a laugh. He grabbed a fallen capsule, slammed it into another Polygon, and watched the booby-trapped capsule throw off the tightly grouped Polygons into the field. "Make that seventeen fighters." he amended with a grin.

"_You will soon grow weary and that is when we will strike!_" the Polygons yelled as another set of three arrived to continue. Link turned to keep up the fight.

"I may get tired, but I get strength knowing that I'm not just fighting for my freedom, but for the freedom of all the Players in the Realm of Humanity!" he snapped back, "And that's why **I'm** gonna win!" With that, he charged the Polygons, throwing them all off the arena one by one using the disguised Master Sword. The team number began to drop rapidly as the elf went on slicing and hacking with fierce determination. Polygons fell to their demise screaming in fury.

"_This can not be possible! There are thirty of us! There is only one of you! How can we be this close to defeat?!_" The last three Polygons exclaimed in shock and horror. Link breathed hard, wielding the sword expertly.

"Wrong on both counts!" Link yelled, "There are only three left of you, and many of my kind! Each Nintendo character has numerous counterparts, but only one of each group is considered the most popular of the current trend! Allstars are those who will remain popular no matter what!" The Polygons charged at him in blind rage, easy pickings for an elf to mow down with sword stretched out. "And your idiotic tyrant overlooked that most important of facts, resulting in his own failures, once we reach that monster at the top of the mountain!" he added as the last of the Polygon Team fell to the field below.

"Fighting Polygon Team defeated!" the announcer declared, "The battle goes to Link! Access granted to the Master Arena!" A portal opened and Link dropped to one knee, exhausted. There hadn't been any recovery items for him in the fight and his damage meter had gone to a little over one hundred percent as he battled the Polygons. They weren't as easy to defeat as Link told the fighters, and the weariness of the constant battling was beginning to take its toll. If he didn't get a good long rest before the final challenge, Link was almost sure he'd fail.

"Need sleep. Need food." he wheezed as he stumbled into the portal.

---------------------------

The Nintendo fighters needed a couple of days to rest and recover. The ledge had risen up to the top of Tournament Mountain and they could see space from where they stood. The stars shone brightly and comets streaked across the sky as they plotted and planned their next attacks. All of the fighters were granted access to the Master Arena and the final fight against Master Hand himself. Link stood against the mountaintop and looked out at the beautiful sky. When the ledge rose, the Nintendo fighters discovered that the set of four doors had been replaced by one, huge set of golden doors. This meant that the characters would have to enter the arena one at a time, but who would go first?

"I should go in first. I'm the lead Allstar. I have more experience fighting bad guys so I should stand a better chance of defeating Master Hand." Mario pointed out over dinner as the other characters sat around a campfire.

"No way! It should be me! I'm faster and more agile! I can avoid attacks better than anyone else here!" Fox snapped, "We can't lose you, Mario! You're Nintendo's number one Golden Mascot!"

"It should be me! I'm the smartest of the bunch! I can outwit Master Hand and wrap up a victory for the home team!" Yoshi declared.

"I shall go in and defeat this Master Hand punk and rescue my beautiful bounty hunter!" Captain Falcon shouted.

"For the last time, ya nitwit, you're not in the tournament!!" the whole group of characters yelled at him, "Get it through your empty head!" Captain Falcon clamped his mouth shut and huddled, grumbling to himself.

"Why not just draw straws? The short straw goes first, long straw goes last." Link finally said, still watching the stars. He wanted them to be quiet so he could think of what to do next in his plan.

"Now there's an idea." Yoshi remarked in surprise, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"I could've said the same thing, but GB Link beat me to it." Fox put in as Mario dug around in his pockets for straws. He pulled out a handful of toothpicks instead.

"Sorry, but toothpicks are all I have." he sighed and held them out. Link walked over to them and pulled out four of them.

"They'll do. I'll cut them up." he replied and pulled out his sword to cut the toothpicks into different lengths. When he was done, he gathered up the sticks, turned away from the group and rearranged them in his hands. "Okay, time to pick!" Link faced the three fighters and held out his fist. The four toothpicks all stuck out from within and set up so no one knew which toothpick was the short one.

"I'll go first." Fox said and reached out to pluck out a toothpick. Mario pulled next, then Yoshi. Link was left with the final toothpick. The four of them compared their toothpicks.

"Ha! I go first!" Yoshi declared in triumph. Mario would be second, Fox would be third and Link would go last. If Yoshi defeated Master Hand, none of the others would have to go in. The three other fighters silently hoped they wouldn't have to be called in to fight. "All right! I'm ready! Lemme at em! Lemme at em!" Yoshi declared and marched up to the giant doors. Link watched him, suddenly fearful. What happened if none of them could win?

"Please work." he whispered to himself as he thought over the double team plan one more time.

Mario and the other characters sat around the campfire, wondering about what would happen. They couldn't help but notice that Link acted a bit more strangely than usual. He was jittery, sometimes very quiet, and always sitting alone.

"Link's not acting right." Fox remarked. Ness played with the yo-yo Fox had given back to him and looked up at Link. The elf was pacing, nervous.

"GB Link is always confident. Why is he so worrisome now?" he wondered.

"Maybe he's worried over that rookie of his." Capt. Falcon muttered, "You know, the little screw-up?" The others shushed him and glanced to see if Link had heard that. He did, but Link pretended he didn't. "You know, if the little wienie had stuck around, we could have thrown him into the Master Arena and seen what happens. Then you'll know if it's booby-trapped."

"Captain Falcon! N64 Link's not a booby! You don't just throw a kid like him into a dangerous area to test the enemy!" Mario snapped.

"It wouldn't have been a big loss anyway. Who'd miss him? We could always redesign another Link to take his place, and this time we use the standard design! This blonde Link nonsense was fine for a laugh, but now we have to get serious." the driver pressed, "After we deal with this insane tyrant and go home, we'll activate N64 Link's shutdown code, stash him in Omega Vault, and build another Link with the specs we've always used; red hair, green eyes, green and yellow-green outfits. That'll save Nintendo."

"Will you shut up about that?!" Fox barked, "You sound like you want to kill the guy and stick some other guy in his place! It's too late for that! _Ocarina of Time_ is out and the next game is already being built!"

Link moved to the other side of the mountain ledge, shivering and trembling, one hand clutching the neck of his tunic, the other on the mountain wall to support him. That's what they really wanted all along! They never liked him from the very beginning! It had all been a lie!

"That's why they rejected me! My face, my looks, I'm not the real Link! I'm not Link after all!" he exclaimed softly and fought to keep from sobbing loudly, "Now they're going to kill me and put another Link in my place. I wasn't good enough. They never gave me the chance to prove myself and now I'm being written out of existence!" He rubbed his tears away and took a shaky deep breath. "All right then. But at least let me prove that I can save Nintendo! If not by being in the Zelda games, then by taking on Master Hand and defeating him!" he decided determinedly.

****

Yoshi Versus Master Hand!

Yoshi dropped onto a wide platform floating in space with stars and comets all around. He looked around warily, where was Master Hand? He heard sounds coming from nearby and looked up. There were four glass capsules suspended in the air. Within each capsule was one of the fallen characters, banging on the walls and shouting angrily. Pikachu, Samus, Kirby, DK, all of them were pounding their fists and yelling.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll get you all out of there!" Yoshi declared.

"Yoshi! You don't understand! Master Hand is enormous!" Samus screamed out as a massive gloved hand swooped onto the scene and settled just above the platform, opposite of Yoshi.

"Are you the wrong character?!" it bellowed with a voice that seemed to emanate from its whole being. Yoshi ducked and shut his eyes tight, then looked up in shock at the thing.

"Are you Master Hand?" he squeaked. The hand shook angrily.

"Answer my question!" it demanded. Yoshi stood up and swallowed hard. "I know that among the four remaining fighters, one is the false star! I have checked these other characters! They are all true stars! Are you the fake?!"

"Yoshi! That's Master Hand! He's a giant hand!" Kirby shouted down. DK pounded on the glass but still couldn't break it.

"_Pika! Pika! Pika!_" Pikachu yelled out over and over. Samus looked at him, confused. Pikachu hadn't said anything but that word and his name. It was as if he couldn't speak. What was wrong with him?

"If you're Master Hand, then I'm at the right place!" Yoshi shouted, feeling braver now that his anger replaced his fear, "I'm no fake, that's for sure! Bring it on!"

"As you wish! Prepare to meet your end, little dinosaur!" Master Hand declared and suddenly slapped at him. Yoshi didn't even have a chance to react. He was thrown into the air, slapped again and sailed over the edge of the platform. The Nintendo captives screamed in horror, but Yoshi quickly recovered and began to use his Flutter Jump ability to get back on the stage.

"What was that?!" Yoshi exclaimed in shock as Master Hand shot off into space. He felt bruised and tired and he had barely started the fight! He looked up at a nearby screen. Master Hand had 300 health points. Yoshi had to knock the count down to defeat him, but the slaps gave him 22 points of damage! "This is harder than it looks." Yoshi muttered as he looked for Master Hand, "Now where did that creep go?"

"Yoshi! Look out!" Kirby screamed out at him. Master Hand zoomed out of the background, slammed Yoshi with his middle finger stretched out, then turned a curve and slammed him again. Yoshi was thrown about and collapsed onto the platform. He struggled to get up as Master Hand floated just beyond the platform, laughing.

"Weak and pathetic fool! You can't defeat me! You can't even touch me!" he declared. Yoshi got to his feet and breathed hard, turning to face him. "Prepare for doom!" With that, Master Hand dove down below the platform. Yoshi blinked, then began to scan the area, searching for a sign of him.

"Where is he, Samus?!" he shouted out loud, "Samus! I can't see him anywhere!"

"He's coming up behind you!" the bounty hunter shrieked as Master Hand rose up, hand open and slapped the platform, slamming himself right on Yoshi! "NO!"

Yoshi lay battered and bruised on the platform, unable to move from the pain. Master Hand waited a second, then slapped at him to knock him over the edge. Yoshi fell to the field below and hit. Shrieking in pain, the little dinosaur disappeared into the field, the rematerialized in a new capsule that was added to the row of captives. The capsule had a machine at the top of the tube that scanned him. It reported that he was a true Nintendo star.

"No matter. I will find the false star soon enough. Yoshi, too, shall witness the fall of his comrades." Master Hand murmured, then laughed at the other captives. "See? See how weak and worthless you are? You will all fail as easily as this one! And soon, you shall all become my slaves while my clones replace you in your games!" Yoshi trembled in the capsule, hurt and angry that he had lost.

"Mario's next." he muttered, "I hope he can help us." Samus looked at him sadly. "Mario's our best chance for winning this stupid contest."


	13. Is This The End?

Chapter Twelve

The mountain rumbled and the three remaining Nintendo fighters knew that it meant Yoshi had failed. Luigi looked around, then looked at his brother, fearful. Mario stood up and got ready to enter the door.

"Don't do it, Mario! We can't lose you!" Luigi exclaimed. Fox loaded a fresh cartridge into his blaster gun and clicked it securely.

"We don't have any choice. Yoshi's down. We have to go." he muttered, "Mario, dude, good luck." Mario sighed and looked to his younger brother.

"Luigi, don't panic. I'll be fine. I promise. I'll come back to you all. Master Hand can't take me down!" he vowed. He gave Luigi a hug, then entered the doors, preparing to fight against the ruler of the Realm of Neutrality.

----------------------

Mario dropped onto the platform and looked around. Everything was set up exactly the way it was for Yoshi. Mario looked up and spotted his friends in the capsules overhead. The screen next to them had his picture and that of a hand with 300 health points. Yoshi looked down at him, scared.

"Mario! Master Hand's a giant hand! You have to knock out all of his points to beat him! He's got some wicked attacks that you have to watch out for!" he shouted down at the plumber. "He slams you, slaps you, even blasts off like a rocket! Watch out for his attacks!"

"Thanks for the tip, Yoshi! How many points did you knock off?" Mario called up.

"None! I couldn't touch the guy! He's super-hard to attack so stay on your toes!" the dinosaur replied as Master Hand zoomed in and laughed.

"Prepare to meet your end, little man! Are you the false star?! Tell me!" he demanded. Mario looked startled, then recovered to take on a fighting stance.

"I am an Allstar and I won't lose to the likes of you! As for fake Nintendo characters, none of us are fake! We're all true stars!" Mario shouted. Master Hand shook in fury, clenched up in a fist.

"You lie! I know for a fact that one of the three fighters remaining is a fake! That one has little or no popularity among the humans! I have no use for a fake star!" Master Hand shouted and began to attack with a slap. Mario put up the bubble shield and rolled away. He turned and fired off a Fireball which hit Master Hand and knocked off only six points. The gloved hand shook it off and clenched into a fist.

"How dare you strike your new master?! You will pay for it with your freedom!" Master Hand yelled and shot up into the air. Yoshi recognized it.

"Mario! Look out! He's gonna do a Rocket Finger!" he shouted a warning.

"_Pikachu! Pika! Pika! Pikachu!_" Pikachu yelled out. Samus was studying him, using her computer to analyze the patterns of his voice. The cries were in a pattern that changed every hour, as if being randomly selected from a set of cries.

"He sounds... robotic." Samus murmured suspiciously, "Could it be... that this Pikachu isn't Pikachu?"

Master Hand hit Mario twice with the Rocket Finger attack, knocking the plumber senseless. The giant hand then slammed the Allstar several times and flicked him right off the platform. Mario hit the force field and screamed as it sucked him in and re-deposited him in a capsule next to Yoshi. Master Hand had done the unthinkable, he had defeated the Nintendo Golden Mascot, Mario!

"We're doomed!" Donkey Kong wailed. The capsule scanned Mario and declared him an Allstar. Master Hand rested on the arena and thought things over.

"I've made a mistake somewhere and he is making me even more angry." he grumbled, "When I find him, I will make him suffer excruciating pain before I kill him." Mario slumped back against the glass of the capsule and looked out at the stars glumly. He had failed. Now Nintendo would suffer a horrible fate if the last two fighters couldn't win the tournament.

"Poor Players. We've let them down. At least N64 Link won't get hurt, he's back home safe and sound. For the time being." he murmured and silently prayed for one of the last two fighters to win.

----------------------

**Fox Versus Master Hand!**

"Where did GB Link go?" Luigi wondered as they waited for signs of the battle's outcome. The Nintendo characters looked around but didn't see him anywhere. "I bet he heard what Capt. Falcon was saying and got mad."

"Of course he'd be mad. The idiot here insulted the Links' design for the rookie!" Fox barked, glaring at the racer. Captain Falcon only shrugged.

"Truth hurts." he replied simply. Fox stood up angrily.

"I'll tell you what else hurts! My blaster barrel jammed up your...!" he started to threaten and the mountain shook violently, nearly knocking Fox off his feet, "Hey! What's going on?! The battle barely started! It can't be over that fast!" Luigi looked wild-eyed.

"Mario! Mario! They got my brother! They got him!" he shrieked and leaped up, racing for the golden doors.

"Don't do it!" Link suddenly cried out and raced around the peak, tackling the green plumber. They fell to the ground as the shaking stopped and Luigi sobbed. "Getting yourself recaptured won't save Mario. Just stay here. Fox will rescue him. I know he will. He's fast and clever. He can do it." he added gently. The elf consoled the plumber as best he could, then sat back and rested against the mountain wall, pulling his legs close to his body and hugging his knees. Fox looked up at the doors and swallowed a little. Ness looked worried.

"You're not really going in there, are ya?" he asked softly. Fox looked back at him and smiled.

"I have to, Ness. It's up to me and GB Link, and he got the last straw. Wish me luck." he whispered and stood to enter the doors and face Master Hand.

"I wish you brains!" Captain Falcon yelled.

"Wish for some of your own, Captain Drives-Like-A-Maniac!" Fox snapped back and entered the arena.

-----------------------

Fox stood his ground and growled as Master Hand came down to meet him. The captured characters watched the scene in hopes that Fox would be the one to defeat the awful overlord. They couldn't help but wonder what Master Hand had meant by one of the last two fighters being a fake Allstar. Fox wasn't an Allstar, at least not yet, and GB Link was an Allstar for his era, but not for the recent generation. So, who was the fake?

"Are you the false star?" Master Hand boomed. Fox growled deeper.

"I'm not even an Allstar, pal, but I _am_ popular with the Players! Let those characters go right now, and maybe I won't shoot you to bits, ya oversized glove!" Fox snapped. Master Hand laughed at him, amused.

"How quaint. The tiny insect threatens me." he murmured and then slapped the stage. Fox was down before he even knew what hit him.

"Fox, that guy's a cheater! You have to knock down his life points, but watch out for his attacks!" Yoshi yelled as Mario stood up and watched the fight in horror. Things were starting off badly. Samus scowled at the capsule next to her. According to her scans, Pikachu was metal through and through.

"That's not the real Pikachu. It's a robot copy. But then, where's the real Pikachu?" she wondered to herself and thought hard. The last time she saw Pikachu act normal was just before she, N64 Link and Pikachu defeated the Giant Donkey Kong. After that, he wouldn't respond to anyone and would stick close to GB Link. "Now that I think about it, that's the same time N64 Link disappeared and was replaced by GB Link." Samus added, "Is there a connection between them?"

Fox rolled to his feet and watched for Master Hand to pull back. As the giant hand hovered, pondering which attack to use next, Fox leaped up and used a Drill Kick on him, knocking off several hit points. Enraged, Master Hand flew up to slam onto the arena again.

"Look out, Fox!" Yoshi cried as the pilot threw up the force field and let it take the force of the blow. Once Master Hand pulled back in shock at the fact that Fox wasn't failing as quickly as he had thought he would, Fox let him have it with a few shots of his blaster. Though on Master Hand the blasts were weak and mostly ineffective, they did take down more of his health. Master Hand was now at 270 points of health. Fox's Drill knocked away a few more.

"He's doing it! He's really doing it! Fox could win this match!" Kirby declared joyfully just before Master Hand formed a gun with his fingers and fired a shot at Fox. He fell back and slid off the platform, scrabbling to hold onto the edge. "Hey! He's starting to cheat again!"

"Insolent fool! How dare you attack me in such a manner! How dare you revolt against your future master!" Master Hand raged and aimed his index finger at him. Fox scrambled back onto the platform, but Master Hand already began jabbing at him, adding damage and knocking the breath out of him. Finally, he pulled away to perform his Rocket Finger attack. Fox collapsed to the floor and struggled to get up. He was hit once by the incoming finger and thrown into the air. He was hit again on the way down to the platform as Master Hand zoomed back across the arena.

"I can't make it, guys!" Fox cried as Master Hand pulled back smugly to watch him, "That last hit damaged my shield!" He fought to get to his feet and waited vainly for an item to drop and help him.

"If you're hoping for me to let you have a small knick knack to help you, forget it!" Master Hand laughed, "In this arena, I rule and my rules are NO ITEMS!" He roared loudly and formed a fist, "Prepare to meet your end!" With that, he punched Fox hard and sent him flying off the arena. Fox spiraled through the air and fell against the force field, screaming in pain. He vanished and reappeared in a capsule, battered and bruised. Master Hand watched the capsule intently. It flickered and came to life, then declared Fox to be a true star. He had enough popularity to capture a wide audience. "At last! Now I know who the false star is! The final challenger! He is the fraud and he shall die!" Master Hand roared in triumph, "And once he is dead, my clones will take control of your games! Weep, fools, your end is nigh and my reign of agony and suffering and despair shall soon begin!" The Nintendo fighters stared at each other in shock. GB Link was a fake?! But he was an Allstar! How could an Allstar be a fake star?!

-----------------------

**Round One:**

**Link Versus Master Hand!**

The mountain shook violently as the characters remaining outside waited. Link looked up in surprise, then looked sorrowful. The real stars had failed, and now they were counting on him to save the players and Nintendo. He stood up and listened to Master Hand's laughter, then backed away from the golden doors as the others watched.

"I can't do it!" he whispered loudly.

"What are you talking about?" Ness exclaimed, "You're our last, best chance at beating that guy! Take him on, Link, and win!"

"I can't do it! You don't understand! I'm not good enough!" Link cried, covering his ears with his hands and shutting his eyes tightly, shaking in terror. "I can't do it!"

"Why the heck not?! You're GB Link, Allstar of the Game Boy Era! Show that Master Hand creep what an Allstar's really made of!" Jigglypuff declared. Link shook his head violently.

"No! NO! I can't do it! I can't do it because I'm not who you think I am!" he cried. Ness, Luigi, Jigglypuff, and Captain Falcon looked at him strangely.

"GB Link's finally lost it." Capt. Falcon whispered to Luigi, who gave him a cold glare.

"I'm not GB Link!" Link cried and finally bolted for the golden doors, "Take me now and end it all! I'll give my life to save the Players and spare Nintendo from carrying its biggest mistake into the holiday season!" he screamed and vanished into the Master Arena.

"I think he got conked on the head during the last match. He's not thinking clearly." Capt. Falcon added with a solemn nod.

------------------------------

Link appeared on the platform and looked around in fright. What was he doing here? What chance did he have, when the true stars couldn't beat Master Hand? He looked up at the capsules and gasped. All the fighters were there, pounding on the glass and trying to escape. And there was the fake Pikachu, still operating under his control. Maybe he did have a chance after all! Link calmed down a little and looked up at the scoreboard. He saw the picture of himself with zero damage points and a picture of a hand with 300 health points.

"Link! Master Hand's a giant hand! He's got a ton of nasty attacks and you have to whittle down his health points to destroy him! I got him down to 250 points before he knocked me out!" Fox shouted, "Good luck! You're our last hope!"

"I'll do my best, Fox!" Link shouted up and gasped as Master Hand came down to greet him. He was shaking in a fury.

"YOU! You are the false star! I should kill you now for ruining my plans!" he raged. Link stepped back slightly, wincing in pain from the loudness of his voice. "But as I have said before, I'll give you a sporting chance. Defeat me, and you are all free to go. Fail, and I shall kill you!" Master Hand bellowed and began by firing a bullet at Link. The elf threw up a shield to block it and quickly rolled away when he slapped across the platform in an attempt to knock him off. He pulled out his sword and began to slash in a fury, the blade a mere blur as Master Hand rose up out of the line of fire, his health down to 240 points already.

"Look out!" Kirby yelled as Master Hand zoomed back into the fight in a punch, knocking Link up into the air. Fox recognized the move.

"He'll try for another!" he shouted and Link twisted in midair to do a Downward Stab attack for another few points of damage.

"Arrragh! You insolent creature!" Master Hand raged and began to let his fingers walk across the platform. Link jumped straight up, pulled a mid-air jump, then used a Whirlwind to sail cleanly over him and land safely behind Master Hand. As soon as he touched ground, Link slashed at Master Hand several more times. Link's damage was up to fifteen percent, Master Hand's health points were down to 215 and falling quickly.

"You can do it, Link! Allstars don't give up!" Yoshi declared. Master Hand flexed his fingers in anger.

"You are not a true star! You are a fake and you will die!" he bellowed. Link breathed hard and quickly thought through his options. He should call Pikachu out now, but was the timing right?

"A little longer. I'll take out a little more of his health and then it will be time to see if my plan will work." he told himself and growled as Master Hand laughed.

"Giving yourself a confidence-boosting pep talk? Give it up! You'll never defeat me!" he declared.

"Then why is it that you've lost more health than I have acquired damage?" Link asked in a harsh voice, "Face it, Master Hand! Your time is almost up!" Master Hand shook in fury and suddenly slammed the platform, startling Link and crushing him under his weight. The hand then lifted up and zoomed off to do a Rocket Finger. Link struggled to his feet, battered and bruised. His damage meter was going up, twenty percent already. The Rocket Finger blasted through, adding more damage and throwing Link to the floor. The elf lay there, dazed.

"And now you shall die, False Star. You shall die, but first, you will watch your friends become my slaves!" Master Hand murmured victoriously and turned to watch the capsules. Link struggled to sit up and watched in horror as a strange purplish-black energy began to slowly fill the capsules, rising from the bottom of the tubes. The Nintendo characters looked startled, then began to panic, jumping in place to try to get away from it. "Go on and try to escape it! It will claim your minds soon enough!" Master Hand crowed and turned to face Link once again. "And now, time to die, False Star." he hissed.

"GB Link! Look out! Don't let him throw you into the force field!" Samus cried as her computer's alarms rang off the charts, "He's changed it to electrocute you! It could kill you!" Master Hand ignored her and proceeded to slam the platform again and again, crushing Link beneath him and raising his damage meter so there would be no way he could recover from a Smash Attack. Link strained to reach for the Poké Ball in his bomb bag, but the blows were making him lose focus, lose consciousness.

"It can't end this way...." he whispered brokenly as Master Hand pulled away for the final blow. Link tried to get up, but his damage was up to a hundred and fifty already. A hard enough hit would finish him for good. "I failed Nintendo...." he whispered in anguish, "I knew.... I'd never amount to anything.... I was a mistake... I was never meant to be anything but a mistake...." He couldn't keep the tears back as he lay helplessly on the platform.

"DIE, FALSE STAR!!" Master Hand shrieked and delivered a Smash Attack punch that slammed Link into the force field like a bullet.

"NO! No, oh no! GB Link!" Kirby cried as the others shrieked in horror. Link stiffened and arced against the electric voltage coursing through his body, screaming and writhing against it. This was it! He had failed and now he would die! Just like Master Hand said! Nintendo would fall! The Players would be enslaved! All of Humanity would plunge into endless suffering because of him!

"IT... CAN'T... END... LIKE... THIS!" Link howled and something finally snapped within him. The force field exploded and threw Link back onto the Master Arena, slamming him down with enough force to crush every bone in his body. The Nintendo fighters stared down at him in horror as Master Hand floated and laughed. Was he... dead?

Link lay motionless on the platform, burned, battered, bloodied and beaten. For a few moments, it seemed as if all hope was lost. Then, slowly, but surely, a glow began to emanate from Link's hand. The fighters stared down at the glow in confusion. What was that? Pikachu blinked at it, then began to yell in its robotic way again. Its orders weren't carried out completely yet. It will follow its orders until its master died or it was reprogrammed, whichever came first.

"What's... happening?" Samus whispered in awe as Link's body lifted from the platform and hovered in the air. The glow flashed and revealed itself to be a small ring that glowed bright gold, then shattered into dust. The golden dust flowed up Link's arm and covered his entire body, restoring him and bringing his damage down to zero.

"Is that like a one-up or something?" DK asked in confusion. The dust began to fade away, revealing GB Link's true identity. N64 Link! The Nintendo fighters gasped in shock. The rookie had been there all along, posing as GB Link! But why?! "Hey! What's Sunshine doin' here?! I thought he was replaced by GB Link!"

"That's it! GB Link's an Allstar, but N64 Link isn't! Master Hand wanted true stars, but he swiped the rookie by mistake! He really wanted GB Link!" Mario declared as the realization hit him.

"Then Pikachu is a fake too! That's a robot that N64 Link switched for the real Pikachu!" Samus shouted, pointing at the capsule beside her.

N64 Link remained suspended for a few moments longer, then was set gently back down on the platform. Master Hand was stunned, then began to shake in fury again. He had been tricked! This elf had cheated him, not once, but twice! First by being in place of the true Allstar he had been trying to kidnap, and now by returning to the battlefield after Master Hand had won!

"How dare you...!" he hissed and N64 Link's eyes flew open in an angry glare.

"By planning ahead, ya fingered freak! Now let's do that fight over again! Round Two, Master Hand, and this time we play by MY rules!" N64 Link declared and armed himself with the Master Sword and a Poké Ball, ready to fight.


	14. Death of a Hero

Chapter Thirteen

**Round Two:**

**N64 Link and Pikachu Versus Master Hand!**

"How is this possible?! My field should have killed you!" Master Hand raged. Link grinned and unshrank the Poké Ball.

"The ring GB Link gave me acted like an extra life and inner shield. You zapped the GB Link me, but not the real me. The ring shattered to give me a second chance." he replied smugly, "I'll have to get a new one for GB Link once I get done with you. So stop yapping and let's do this!"

"As you wish, False Star!" Master Hand shouted and tried to slap across the arena. Link rolled under the attack and stood up behind him.

"And the name's Link! N64 Link of _The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_! And I'm not your only problem, Pal!" Link shouted angrily and hurled the ball straight down, "Pikachu! Time to double team!" The ball exploded and the true electric mouse leaped out and landed next to his friend.

"All right! Ready to rumble! Finally, I get a little action!" Pikachu declared, "Hey, Link! Did Banana Brains give you any trouble?"

"Not a bit! He thought I was GB Link once I put on my special First Gen Ring! I got him back a dozen times over, though!" Link forced a laugh, knowing that he would still be killed whether he won the tournament or not.

"Impossible! That rat failed a challenge!" Master Hand shrieked and looked up at the capsule. The robot Pikachu kept pounding on the glass. "How can it be that he is here _and_ in my trap?!"

"I had a plan the whole time, Master Hand! A fake Pikachu would take my friend's place, while the real Pikachu traveled with me to enter this arena. Together, we would defeat you!" Link yelled out, "Robo-Pikachu! Final order! Self-destruct!" The robotic Pikachu stiffened and began to count down.

"_Pika. Pika. Pika. Pika-pika. Pika-pika. Pika-pika. Pikapika-pikapika. Pika-CHU!_" the robot barked and then exploded, shattering the capsule. Link smiled up at Master Hand.

"See? I used your robots against you. Now, try to take us on!" he declared and raced forward to slash.

"Let's see if you can handle a taste of **real** Pika power!" Pikachu declared and leaped at Master Hand for an Electric Drill attack. Master Hand writhed and shot forward to escape, knocking both fighters down to set up another attack. He zoomed into the distance, then came in to slap the platform. Link and Pikachu dodged it and came in to attack again. The stars and comets shone brightly in the skies around them as the battle went on. The scoreboard changed to match the fight. Next to Link's picture was Pikachu's image, and Master Hand's health points were down to 199. The skies grew cloudy and it became a little harder to see where the force fields lay.

"You cannot defeat me! It's hopeless! Impossible!" Master Hand raged. He tried to fire another bullet, but Pikachu rolled away from it. Link raised his shield and ground his teeth, taking the hit, then leaped up to hit him again.

"If he was with us all along, then he heard what we were saying on the way up here!" Fox exclaimed in realization, "What Captain Falcon said... N64 Link must think that we really _are_ planning on shutting him down after the tournament!"

"What did Capt. Falcon say?!" Samus demanded. Fox looked in her direction with a pale face.

"He said that we should activate Link's shutdown code and put him in the Omega Vault, then replace him with a new Link built with the first generation design!" he replied.

"That's why he's fighting the way he is now." Samus growled as she watched the match. Link quickly raised a shield to absorb part of another blow and braced himself as he was pushed back a few feet by the force of it. "Link is fighting as if he has nothing to lose, because he feels that he really doesn't. He could either die in the tournament, or die at home, so he's chosen to die in battle rather than be shut down by the people he had always thought cared for him."

"Go, Link! You can do it! Hang in there, Pikachu! It's all up to the two of you now!" Mario shouted words of encouragement. The other characters began to chant along. "Go, Link! Go, Link! Pi-ka-chu! Pi-ka-chu!"

"Hey! Rooting for the home team!" Pikachu panted with a smile as he called down a Thunderjolt attack to zap Master Hand. "They're lovin' us, Link!" Link didn't answer, just went on slashing. "Link? You okay, pal?" Still no answer.

"You can't do this to me! I am powerful! I am the master of this realm! You are insignificant nothings!" Master Hand bellowed as he rose out of the line of attack and jabbed at the fighters together with his Finger Poke attack. Link and Pikachu tumbled together to the platform and scrabbled to avoid the Palm Press attack, the destructive platform slap that had defeated the former fighters. The clouds in the background began to swirl in a fast and furious vortex and Master Hand's health was down to 150 points and he was infuriated by it. "I cannot be defeated by a boy and his pet rat!"

"Hey! Who you callin' a rat, ya rat?! I ain't the one who yanked innocent characters from their games just to have a shot at interdimensional domination!" Pikachu snapped angrily. Link threw a boomerang out to knock another health point off of Master Hand.

"That's it! That is **it**! You will _both_ die!" Master Hand shrieked and closed his fingers up tightly together, then shot up into the air. Pikachu and Link watched him go up, confused.

"Now what do you think that punk's getting ready to do?" Pikachu muttered as Master Hand began to spin incredibly fast and dive straight down at them. Link screamed in shock and dove at the mouse.

"Pikachu! Get out of the way!" he shrieked and screamed again as Master Hand smashed into his back, still spinning in his Finger Drill attack. Pikachu tumbled across the platform, grabbed the edge and scrabbled back up.

"Link!" he shrieked in horror as he watched the elf get twisted and drilled up in the fast and furious attack. With a cruel laugh, Master Hand ended the attack and threw Link across the platform.

"Revenge! I told you that you would die, False Star!" Master Hand crowed as Pikachu ran to Link's side and the other Nintendo fighters strained to see if he was all right. Pikachu sobbed as he tried to shake Link awake.

"Link, buddy! Wake up! Please!" he whispered. The elfin hero lay on his side, limp and prone on the dark blue platform that was the Master Arena. His eyes were closed and there was a thick trail of bright red blood trickling from the corner of his mouth all the way down past his ear, pooling underneath him. "Link, you can't do this to me, pal!" Pikachu went on tearfully, "You made this plan! You said we'd take him on together! You and me! A duo! The two rookies proving themselves to Nintendo! You... you _can't_ die on me now!" Link didn't answer. Pikachu placed his ear to his chest and strained to hear a heartbeat. Nothing.

Pulling back in anguish, the mouse kept shaking him. "Link! Don't be dead! You _can't_ be dead! You _told_ me that you would make it! You told me we'd do this _together_! That we would save Nintendo!" Pikachu cried and began to pound on the elf's chest with tiny fists, "You _can't_ do this to me! Don't die! Don't you dare be dead! Link, you rat, how could you do such a stupid thing as to die now?!"

"Oh, no." Samus murmured and looked up at the scoreboard. Link's damage was at 300 percent already and a small gold halo appeared over the picture. "No, he can't be!" she cried in sorrow.

"What will we tell the other Links?" Mario whispered tearfully as he looked down at the scene before him. DK stared at the platform.

"Sunshine's faking it, right?" he squeaked, "Somebody tell me he's just playing possum 'cause he's too chicken to go on. Blondie's not really dead... is he?"

Master Hand laughed harder as Pikachu stepped back, shaking his head in disbelief. Link hadn't moved an inch, didn't even respond to an electric shock. It was true. Link had died in the middle of the fight, killed by Master Hand's cruel attack.

"It was meant for me." Pikachu whispered and trembled in a fury, growling deep in his throat and baring sharp teeth as he whirled around to face Master Hand. "The attack was meant for me, and Link took the full force to save me. You murderer! You killed Link, and you meant to do it to me!" he shrieked at the boss.

"He was a fool. He should have let you die first. It would have allowed him a few more seconds of life. He could have spared himself the pain of my power if he had just died when I threw him into the field the first time." Master Hand purred darkly. "No matter. He's dead, as I told him he would be. And when I have defeated you, you will return to your proper place among the rest of my slaves." The energy in the capsules was near the characters' heads, touching their necks. Another few minutes and they would be consumed by the energy and brainwashed into slavery.

"Murderer!" Pikachu shrieked again, "Link wasn't a fool! He gave his life to save Nintendo! He's a true star! And you're gonna pay for his death with your own!" He dropped to all fours and snarled, charged up with electricity. "Prepare to meet your end, Master Hand! You're gonna answer to me now, and I'm a major Poké-pain-in-the-butt!" he shrieked.

---------------------

**Round Three:**

**Pikachu Versus Master Hand!**

Master Hand laughed again and fired a Finger Shot. Pikachu leaped over it and Electric Drilled the evil hand. Enraged, Master Hand slapped at him, then tried another Palm Press. The mouse rolled past both attacks and kept on drilling. The vortex spun faster and the capsules began to shake under the onslaught of energy generated by the enraged hand and the infuriated electric mouse.

"If this keeps up, we'll _all_ be in danger of being destroyed by their battle!" Samus shouted over the clash of the two powers.

"We can't get out of these things! My blaster doesn't work on the stupid glass!" Fox cried and struggled to keep his head above the rising energy, "And this stuff is getting higher! Help! Help!"

"Die, you pathetic rat! Die and join your pitiful friend in the afterlife!" Master Hand bellowed as he punched Pikachu. The mouse tumbled through the air, drilled down to hit the platform and used it as a launchpad to headbutt the giant hand. All through the battle, Link's body still lay on the platform, motionless.

"How's about you die first so he can give you another beating in the other world?!" Pikachu retorted and pulled another Drill to reduce Master Hand's health points to a hundred. The hand showed signs of wear and tear, bloodied and ragged but still full of fight. Pikachu was just as battle ravaged, but refused to give in to the weariness that threatened to force him into defeat.

"Why don't you give up already?! You know that I am invincible! I will rule the Realm of Humanity for all time!" Master Hand shrieked.

"Why us?! Why did you attack Nintendo?! Playstation and Sega have large audiences of their own! Why did you pick Nintendo to spread your evil?!" Pikachu shrieked as he rolled away from another Palm Press.

"I will start with your system, then do the same to the others! All three systems will become my slaves and they will enslave Humanity for me! Nintendo is weak and vulnerable! A perfect first target!" Master Hand laughed, "Just as weak and pathetic as your little elf friend, Link! The way he failed, that is how you will fail and how Nintendo will collapse and become my ship of evil and despair!"

"Over my dead body!" Pikachu screamed as he leaped up to Electric Drill him. Master Hand swooped in to meet him.

"As you wish, Electric Rat!" he howled in twisted pleasure. The two collided and fell back apart, heavily damaged. Pikachu was up to over a hundred and twenty percent damage and Master Hand was down to seventy health points. He fired a Finger Shot and Pikachu blocked, then fired two more as he dropped the shield. Pikachu flew over the edge of the platform, but utilized his Zap Jump to get back up and Drilled Master Hand again. The clouds around them swirled faster and faster, symbolizing how furious and fierce the battle was as the two fighters collided again and again.

"Pikachu! Hurry it up! We can't hang on much longer!" Kirby cried as he strained to keep his mind as the energy engulfed him. The other fighters struggled with the brainwashing energy that invaded their minds and threatened their freedom.

"You're our last hope, Pikachu! Do it for Nintendo! Do it for Link!" Fox cried and screamed as he felt himself losing to the power of the evil energy.

Speeding across the platform as Master Hand tried another Finger Drill attack, Pikachu turned sharply and lashed out with a Tail Attack, followed by a Mid-Air Kick. Down to forty points, Master Hand fought back wildly, firing Finger Shots everywhere and slapping at the air in attempts to hit the fleet-footed mouse.

"I cannot be defeated! I am all-powerful! You are a mere rat!" Master Hand screamed in blind rage, pounding the platform with Palm Presses. Pikachu leaped and Electric Drilled him, then landed on the ground to give the scoreboard a quick glance. Twenty points left. He had a hundred and ninety percent damage. No problem.

"Yeah. This'll be quick and fun!" Pikachu murmured with a laugh and leaped over another spontaneous slap. He pulled another Drill and rolled away to check the score again. Eleven points. He threw a bolt of electricity and knocked away more health. Six points. "I know exactly how to end this." Pikachu whispered fiercely and raced forward as Master Hand came flying in for another Palm Press.

"DIE, RAT!" Master Hand screamed, closing in for the kill. Pikachu leaped up to meet the attack head on, fully charged with electricity, enough for one last Thunderjolt attack.

"This one's for Link!" Pikachu screamed back and unleashed the full force of the powerful electric attack as he slammed into Master Hand. The hand exploded, shrieking in rage and agony as the vortex exploded with him. Flames engulfed the writhing hand as he fell from the sky and disappeared into the depths of Tournament Mountain. Pikachu landed on the platform, exhausted and completely drained of strength. He looked over the edge at the ball of fire that was Master Hand's dead form and smiled tiredly. "Link, your plan worked. I'm sorry you didn't live to see this. He makes a pretty cool fireball." he whispered and looked back sadly at the lifeless elf.

The capsules shattered and the fighters were freed of the evil energy. They dropped onto the platform as a wide bridge formed to connect the Master Arena to the warp that would take them out of the mountain's core. Mario rushed to Link's side and checked him over quickly as the others gathered around. Pikachu limped up to them and sagged tiredly. Samus picked him up and held him.

"He's definitely gone." Mario finally sighed and pulled off his hat in respect. Fox blinked back tears and straightened in a respectful salute. Samus bowed her head. Kirby looked down at the floor. Yoshi bowed his head and lowered his tail. Even DK, looking guilty and regretful, lowered his head. "You fought well and bravely to save us. We thank you." Mario whispered, looking down at the elf. He would have said more, but Tournament Mountain began to shake violently. He looked around in surprise. "What? What's going on?" he exclaimed. Chunks of rock began to fall from the ceiling of the arena as the shaking grew worse.

"Tournament Mountain's caving in!" Fox shouted, "This whole place is crumbling! We'll be crushed if we don't get off this rock fast!"

"DK! Get Link's body! We're not leaving him here!" Mario ordered. DK swallowed hard and picked up the elf, slinging him over one shoulder. "Take it easy on him! He died for us, and for you, you ungrateful ape!"

"It's the best I can do!" DK protested as they raced across the bridge to the portal. The ape pounded along, using one arm to help propel his bulk along while the other secured Link on his shoulder. "Listen, Sunshine." DK panted under his breath, "I know it's way too late for apologies, but... I am supremely sorry for all the crud I put you through, and for taking your Nintendo Coin." The group vanished into the portal and transported outside.

-----------------------------------

"What's going on?! It sounded as if the entire mountain was being ripped apart from the inside out!" Ness exclaimed as the fighters reappeared.

"That's because it is! We gotta get off this hunk of rock before it becomes a giant pile of kitty litter!" Fox barked as a ramp began to form on the mountain, spiralling around it and reaching the bottom. They began to run down it.

"Mario! You're okay!" Luigi exclaimed in joy as he made his way to his brother. Mario winked at him.

"Told you I'd come back!" he laughed and kept running. Captain Falcon sidled up to Samus and puffed alongside her.

"My beloved bounty hunter! You've returned to me!" he gushed.

"Shut up! You told N64 Link that we were going to put him in the Omega Vault?! Have you lost what little mind you had to begin with?!" Samus snapped at him. Capt. Falcon looked startled.

"But the rookie wasn't even here!" he protested and yelped in shock as DK pounded past him with N64 Link on one shoulder, "Hey! When did he come back?! I thought GB Link entered the competition!"

"It wasn't the real GB Link, you moron! It was N64 Link disguised as GB Link! He heard every word you said about him!" Fox shrieked back as the mountain began to crumble and the levels collapsed on themselves. The ramp began to disintegrate behind the Allstars as they raced ever faster down the mountain. The skies were a dark and fiery red.

"What happened to him?! Is he okay?! He looks real beat up!" Jigglypuff cried as Samus scooped her up and carried her along.

"Link's dead and there's nothing we can do about it." Pikachu whispered sorrowfully, "He took a hit that was meant for me, and it killed him. Master Hand murdered my best friend and I was left to defeat him on my own." Jigglypuff looked shocked.

"But... you failed the target challenge!" she cried. Pikachu shook his head.

"Link had a plan to hide me in a Poké Ball and carry me with him. He stole a robot Pikachu to take my place and tricked Master Hand so we could both attack him at the same time. Master Hand was so angry, he killed Link for it, and I was left alone to finish carrying out Link's plan." he explained and closed his eyes, too weak to continue speaking.

"Faster! Faster! Tournament Mountain's almost gone!" Yoshi shrieked as they reached the bottom of the mountain and scrambled to get as far away from the mountain as possible. The mountain began to implode, collapsing in on itself as the Allstars and the rescued characters raced across the grassy plains to get away from the rain of burning rubble and boulders.

Finally, when they were far enough away to feel safe, the Nintendo fighters watched as Tournament Mountain crumbled and exploded in a brilliant eruption of light and fire. They breathed hard and fast, fighting to catch their breaths as DK carefully set Link onto the grass, placing one arm across his belly and turning his head to one side. The characters gathered around him in sorrow.

"Do we bury him here?" Ness whispered and looked up at Fox, "Are we trapped here? There's no way of contacting home, or getting a portal there since Master Hand was the one who transported us here. So... so we don't have a choice but to stay here. Forever." Fox looked down at him sadly.

"I suppose so. We all have homing devices, but they only work locally. They can't track beyond our dimension." he murmured, "So I guess the answer is yes. We'll have to stay here. And we'll have to bury Link here."

"But we gave Link an advanced transmitter. It's supposed to work beyond that boundary." Luigi murmured softly as he took off his hat. Ness saw him and did the same.

"We never had the chance to actually test it. It might not even work." Mario murmured as he took his hat off, too. He sighed and looked around at the characters. "Friends, we gather here today to mourn the loss of a hero. Nintendo 64 Link was young and inexperienced in the ways of our system and games. He suffered ridicule by the other characters, and endured the hardships some of us put him through. Though Link was only a rookie compared to the rest of us, he taught us to remember what it means to be a star." he began a speech. Pikachu opened his eyes and growled.

"His coin, DK. Return Link's Nintendo Coin. You stole it from him. Now give it back." he hissed. Mario looked at DK in surprise and confusion. DK looked even more guilty as he brought the silver coin out from his secret pocket.

"I took it to get back at Pikachu." he murmured and held it out to Mario. The plumber took it from him and gazed down at the smiling face that was engraved on the smooth round coin. "I guess I was a real jerk to him. I didn't mean to be. You know how I am about those elves. How can they be so powerful when they're not even built for super strength like me and my ancestors?"

"The Links were styled for a different kind of strength that comes from the heart and not for the raw brute force of muscles." Mario replied softly, "And N64 Link had the most powerful heart of all. He was smart enough to recognize the potential of using our enemy's tools against him."

"He was strong enough to continue fighting on our behalf despite the torment we put him through." Luigi put in suddenly and the others caught on.

"Link was courageous enough to sacrifice himself for his friends and his rivals." Samus declared.

"Attacked on both sides by our words and Master Hand's robots and threats, Link faced the impossible odds and overcame enough of them to give us all a second chance at winning the tournament, even a third chance!" Kirby put in with a smile.

"And even when he did get scared, he didn't give in to that fear and he went in to face Master Hand anyway! And I bet he didn't give in to that creep's attacks until he saved Pikachu!" Jigglypuff declared.

"He never bragged about beating Master Hand on his own or about why he should go in first. Link was always quiet and let us boast and rant while he devised the plan that saved us. And when we flattered him when we thought he was GB Link, he didn't say a word to let us know that we were praising someone else for his ideas. He just accepted the idea that we thought more highly of the elder Links." Yoshi said quietly.

"Link knew that he couldn't defeat Master Hand alone, so he turned to the only person he felt was his friend to help him." Fox whispered and smiled at Pikachu. "The plan he had called for the combined efforts of friendship and power. Link and Pikachu formed a friendship from the fact that both were rookies and new to our ways and they supported each other throughout the entire Master Tournament, and through the final battle."

"Link did the best he could with what he had with him." Pikachu murmured, "In the fight, when he saved me, I saw that he had almost two hundred percent of damage while I had only fifty. He knew that with my less damage, I could stand a better chance of winning. He also cared for me, and that's why he took the hit. He allowed his damage to kill him so that I would have the chance and the motivation to finish the job."

"Dying to save Pikachu and let him finish was Link's last resort. He had no idea whether Pikachu would actually win or not, but he went ahead and died to give us all that chance." DK muttered sadly, "Link carried the motto in his heart when he died. A slim chance is still a chance, and he gave that chance to Pikachu, who used it to save us all."

"Nintendo's not gonna be the same without you, Rookie." Captain Falcon murmured, "Sorry for what I said. I didn't really mean it. You would have made a great Allstar."

"N64 Link, you have demonstrated all the qualities of an Allstar. Your kindness and bravery were tested to the extremes in the past few days but you survived the challenges long enough to free us." Mario finished up, "Had you survived, I would have been proud to name you the newest Allstar. Be proud, Link. You have done what none of us could ever accomplish in our lifetimes. You showed us who the true Allstar had been all along. It was you."

With those final words, Link's Nintendo Coin erupted in an explosion of light. Mario jerked back and covered his eyes, blinded by it. The other characters stepped back and gasped as the coin hovered over Link's body, glowing brightly. It shone a light on DK and pulled out Pikachu's Nintendo Coin. The two coins danced around each other, spinning around each other before separating. Pikachu's coin returned to him, shining almost as brightly as Link's coin, blessed by its gift of love and friendship. Pikachu looked at it in surprise, then smiled tearfully.

"Thank you, Link. I love you, too, Pika-pal." he whispered and closed his eyes as the coin disappeared into him.

"What the heck's goin' on?!" DK shouted as the Nintendo Coin glowed brighter. Mario blinked and struggled to see it.

"The Nintendo Coin! It's... transforming!" he cried as it exploded one last time. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished and everyone turned to see the coin.

No longer a silver Nintendo Coin, a shining, glittering golden Nintendo Star hovered in its place, Link's smiling face engraved in the center of it. It hovered there for a second, then slowly descended to vanish into Link's body, covering the elfin hero with a golden light.

"Did you see that?" Samus whispered to no one in particular, "Link's Nintendo Coin became a Nintendo Star! He's an Allstar now!"

"But he's dead!" Pikachu exclaimed in shock and gasped when the glow ended and Link twitched slightly, "Link?!"

Link turned his head and raised a hand to his face, slowly opening his eyes and groaning. Somehow, he was brought back to life by the power of the Nintendo Star! It was a miracle!

"I feel sick. My head is killing me." Link groaned and winced in pain when he tried to get up, "Ouch!" He hissed and settled back in the grass again. "I can barely remember what happened. Pikachu, Pikachu, did we win?" he whispered in confusion, "Pikachu, I feel so weak...." Pikachu laughed in relief and joy, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"You and me both, Pika-pal!" he exclaimed and winced painfully, "You and me both! We won, pal! Your plan worked! Master Hand's dead! All the characters are free! Nintendo and Humanity are safe from Master Hand's evil plans!" Link smiled and closed his eyes tiredly.

"That's good. I feel light-headed, like I'm dying. Nintendo's mistake will soon be a bad memory. Thank you, for being my friend, even for a little while." he murmured softly.

"Don't talk crazy, Allstar Link." Mario laughed, "You were never a mistake! You proved to us that you are a true Link!" Link frowned and opened one eye.

"What did you call me?" he muttered. The other characters laughed in joy and relief.

"Allstar Link! You're an Allstar, N64 Link!" they cheered. DK grumbled a bit.

"How did Sunshine get to be an Allstar if he got killed off?" he grumbled. Mario grinned at him.

"Nintendo's power works in mysterious ways." he replied smugly and knelt down next to Link, "You're an Allstar now. DK returned your Nintendo Coin, which then took back Pikachu's coin and became a star. That star brought you back to life as an Allstar. Welcome to the elite, Allstar Link." he told him. Link stared up at him in disbelief, then brightened slowly as it dawned on him that Mario was telling him the truth.

"You mean it?! I'm... I'm an Allstar?!" he cried happily as he sat up quickly. He cried in pain sharply, then fell back onto the grass, grinding his teeth and shutting his eyes tightly. "Mario.... I can't... move.... It hurts... to move...." he whispered through his teeth. Mario placed a hand on him and shushed him.

"Don't move. Master Hand used a Finger Drill on you and he might have damaged your back pretty badly. Where's your transmitter?" he asked him softly. Link trembled in pain and slowly opened one eye to look up at him.

"My earrings. One's... the transmitter.... The other one's... a... microphone." he replied and sighed, dropping into unconsciousness.

"Link!" Pikachu cried in shock. Mario held up a hand.

"It's okay! He's just asleep now. He's taken some bad beatings and, even though the Nintendo Star resurrected him and healed him, he's still weak and a little hurt." he assured him and removed both earrings. "I don't even know if these work."

"They work. GB Link contacted him the night before we faced Giant Donkey Kong and gave him the First Gen Ring." Pikachu muttered, "He told me, the left is the transmitter and the right is the mike." He looked down at the elf and squirmed. "Put me next to him!" he cried. Samus set him down beside Link and Pikachu curled up on him, resting his head on Link's shoulder so that their noses touched. He, too, drifted off, drained of strength.

"They look sweet together." Samus murmured and watched Mario switch the microphone on.

"Nintendo base, come in! Come in, Nintendo base! This is Allstar Mario!" the plumber declared. After a moment of static, a voice called out.

"We hear you, Allstar Mario! This is GB Link! The real GB Link! We're tracking Link's transmitter right now! That weird barrier's gone now!" GB Link called back. "Is everyone with you?! All the missing characters?"

"Yeah!" Mario replied as the others cheered and whooped for joy. The mike came back to life.

"Hey! Why are you on Link's microphone?! Where is he? Where's N64 Link?!" GB Link cried in a panic.

"Calm down! He's okay. He's with us. He's hurt pretty bad, and so's Pikachu, but they're asleep and doing okay for now. Can you get us out of here?" Mario replied.

"We're locking on. We've got you! Okay! Portal opening!" GB Link called and a bright white portal appeared nearby. The Nintendo characters cheered again and raced towards the portal. Mario replaced the earrings, gently picked Pikachu up and waited for DK to do the same for Link. The ape picked him up and slowly made his way to the portal, carefully balancing his massive bulk on his two small legs

"And when we get back, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do, DK." Mario growled as they disappeared into the portal, "Stealing Pikachu and Link's Nintendo Coins?! It's unheard of! You're gonna get it now, and I don't mean from me either!"


	15. Birth of an Allstar!

Course that wasn't the end! I'm not one to leave threads hanging, y'know?

Epilogue

Link awoke some time later and carefully moved to test his back. The pain was nearly gone. There was still a dull ache, but it was fading quickly. He looked up into the faces of the elder Links and his friend Pikachu and smiled at them.

"Hey, guys! Guess what? Mario said I'm a new Allstar! Isn't that great?!" he exclaimed happily. He sat up and laughed as the characters congratulated him heartily. Link nodded and focused on the other Nintendo fighters and rescued characters watching him from outside the infirmary. "Oh. I guess it's time." he murmured and jumped down from the bed. The other Links watched him in confusion. What was going on?

The Nintendo fighters headed toward the main hall and then stood in a semi-circle as Link climbed up the steps and stood on the stage in the lone spotlight. He sighed sadly and looked out at the Nintendo base. He tried to memorize everything, taking in one last look at his home. He knew, he hadn't been good enough to stay with them. The Allstar thing was probably a 'last wish granted' kind of thing.

"I wasn't meant to be part of the team. Oh well. It was kind of fun, while it lasted." he murmured and then looked down at Mario, Captain Falcon, and all the rest. "Okay, guys! I'm ready now! Go ahead and activate the shutdown code!" Link called down to them tearfully, "Just have GB Link take care of Pikachu for me, okay?! He's my best friend! And don't tell the new N64 Link that I screwed up! Let him think he's the first one!"

"What are you talking about, Link?! We're not shutting you down!" Mario called up to him. Link blinked at him in surprise. "I just got through naming you an Allstar, we're not getting rid of you now! We're just waiting for you to say a speech!"

"A speech?" Link echoed dumbly as the Arcade Allstars stepped up behind him. He looked back in surprise and yelped in shock. "Ar-arcade Mario! And Arcade DK!" Link cried and quickly dropped to one knee in respect. "I-I didn't know you were there! It's an honor to meet you, both of you!" he babbled.

"We're not kings, you know. You can stand up." Arcade Mario murmured with a smile. Arcade DK nodded and helped Link up. "Congratulations on being named an Allstar. You earned it. You saved Nintendo from invasion."

"And you stood up for what you believed in." Arcade DK put in, "No thanks to my ingrate descendant." he added, giving DK a glare, "I think we should put him through my special training session to teach him some manners and respect for the Links."

"Oh no!" Allstar DK wailed and ran off.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Arcade DK snapped and looked back at Link with a smile. "Well, ready to speak?" Link shook his head quickly, wide-eyed with awe.

"It's okay. Calm down, son. Just say what's in your heart. It doesn't have to be fancy and impressive." Arcade Mario remarked. "You're not being judged."

"If you say so." Link murmured and stepped up to the microphone Arcade DK set up before him. He swallowed hard and looked out at the gathering characters. There were the elder Links lined up in the front row, looking up at him with pride. Pikachu sat next to GB Link, giving him a thumb's-up and smiling.

"You can do it, Pika-pal!" he declared and laughed happily. Link brightened and nodded once, then took a deep breath before speaking.

"I thought that, when I first came here, no one liked me. I was an oddball. A blonde Link trying to pick up where the redheads left off. It had always been my dream to prove myself to you all and become an Allstar to get some respect. When I lost my coin, my dream had died, but not my hopes of helping Nintendo any way I could." Link began to say, "I was a mistake in Master Hand's plan of domination, and his constant threats and jeers made me feel as if I had always been a mistake. I believed I wasn't any good. Still, I had one goal in mind. I would continue the tournament as GB Link, save Nintendo, then die so it wouldn't have to support a mistake." He paused and swallowed again. "I believe I did die. But for some reason, I was brought back to life as an Allstar. I couldn't understand why. So I ask you all, I thank you for this great honor and I ask you, why was I chosen to be an Allstar when my coin was taken away and I had been killed in battle?"

"You proved to everyone that you were the one true Allstar among us in the tournament." Mario called up, "You showed us the qualities we said were in an Allstar and you didn't even realize it! You had no intention at the time of becoming an Allstar when you fought for us, and that was what saved you and made you an Allstar! You didn't think of yourself, but of others!" Link looked surprised, then blushed.

"Thank you! Thank you all very much for the honor! I will do my very best to live up to this honor! I'll be a great Link and a great Allstar with your help and guidance!" He laughed and thrust a fist into the air, "So let's get the Allstars ready for the holiday season! The Players will be waiting for some fantastic new games!" he cheered and the other characters cheered along with him.

A few weeks later, Pikachu raced up to Allstar Link and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Come check this out, Link! You're not gonna believe it!" he cried and raced off. Link followed. When he returned to his game, the Player had taken some time to think things through and actually made it to the end of the game in another few days. Link reported back with an A-OK on the game's ending and the news that the Player hoped for another game about time travel. Mario hinted that the next one would have real time travel.

"What is it?! What's going on?!" Link exclaimed as he followed the mouse into the main hall and saw everyone looking up at a giant screen computer monitor. He blinked at them all in confusion, then yelped as he was pushed to the front row, right in front of the screen.

"Take a look up there! It's awesome!" Pikachu exclaimed and looked up at it in joy. Link looked confused, then followed his gaze up to the screen. A startled look came over his face. The Gamer's Choice Awards! "They're announcing the winners of the awards!" Pikachu exclaimed and everyone fell into a hush.

"Oh no." Link whispered fearfully. He had seen his competition. Metal Gear Solid nearly wiped him out after a brief run-in when the Player's friend came over with a Playstation and the two systems were connected at the same time to the same TV. Solid Snake gave him this strange grin. Link panicked and hid behind Ganondorf, who then had to convince him to let go of the cape so they could finish the stage one fight.

"Oh! Here's the Nintendo 64 Game of the Year award!" Allstar Peach exclaimed, "Super Mario 64! Pick it!" The screen flashed briefly and the title of the winning game came on screen. "WHAT?!"

"_The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_, by unanimous vote!" the announcer on-screen declared, showing a clip of Link riding Epona across Hyrule Field. Allstar Link screamed in shock and stepped back.

"No way! I don't believe it! I actually won something?!" he cried. Pikachu smiled at him and cheered.

"Yeah! There's more! Watch!" he added and turned back to the screen. Link gulped and stepped back forward.

"Action RPG of the Year award goes to...." the announcer went on and the screen flashed again, "_The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_! By yet another unanimous vote!" Link shrieked again and bumped into N64 Ganondorf when he backed up again.

"Again?! That's rigged! You guys are trying to give me a heart attack!" Link exclaimed and looked around wildly, "No way! No way I'm winning twice in a row!" The characters shushed him and went back to watching. There was an award for Sega for a Saturn game, one for Metal Gear Solid for Playstation games, and then Metal Gear Solid won again for Adventure Game of the Year. NES Link booed it, then looked sheepish when everyone stared at him.

"I was hoping we'd win that one. Oh well. We're RPG." he explained and laughed.

"Action Game of the Year is Banjo-Kazooie!" the announcer declare and Nintendo cheered again. Link turned to look at the newcomers. The bear and bird duo were fairly recent additions but they quickly proved their worth and brought more life to the system. He smiled at them. They cheered happily and danced about the area. There were several other awards and comments that the N64 Zelda title really had saved Nintendo's fame and fortune, making Link feel even more dizzy and light-headed. Finally, the last award was about to be announced.

"That's new. Game of the Year for All Systems? What third-party game got that? Is that even possible?" Allstar Mario wondered, "Could it be you, Mega Man?"

"Heck, no! I had a stand in for the Playstation version! That woman screwed me over the minute she opened her mouth in the costume and now there's fanfics about me being a chick!" Mega Man declared, "Besides, that's a whole new category! They didn't have that last year! What game could be so popular that the Gamer's Choice Awards had to invent a new category?!"

"And the winner is...." the announcer drew out the suspense as a drumroll sounded and the screen flashed faster, "Surprise, surprise! It's _The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_! Give it up, people, for Zelda 64! Mr. Miyamoto's masterpiece cleans up the awards! What a spectacular game! The gamers love it, so keep it coming, Nintendo! Let's see Link again!" he shouted wildly as the title flashed in neon lights.

"Funny, Zelda's not on any other system. Was that a joke category?" Peach remarked as the Nintendo characters stared at the screen in shock, then heard a dull thump. They all looked towards Ganondorf.

Link had fainted and almost hit the floor. Ganondorf barely caught him in time, holding his head and shoulders up and waving a part of his cape to fan Link's face. Pikachu hopped to his side and looked worried.

"Link? Buddy? You okay?" he asked, then smiled in relief when the elf opened his eyes a little to look up at him.

"I'm dreaming this up, right? This isn't real. It's just a dream. I didn't win all that." he murmured softly, barely audible.

"It's all real, little guy." N64 Ganondorf told him with a grin, "We won. I guess they really liked that fight we had at the end. Visuals were great for it."

"I got scared at the end. You jumped out like that and I got scared and tripped over my own feet." Link mumbled and closed his eyes again. "We won. Wow. They really... liked... me...." Allstar Mario grinned at him and nodded to Ganondorf, who picked him up and carried him back to the Zelda quarters.

"He'll do just fine." he said softly as Arcade Mario stepped up behind him. "He's young, but he'll do fine. And the Programmers are working on Super Smash Brothers. Our little mishap adventure had some good in it. Nintendo's going to have a fighting game starring all of us. Maybe that will win an award someday."

"He's a good kid. Allstar DK's going through a little 'toughening up'." Arcade Mario replied and smiled, "He deserves it, after all he put that poor boy through. I suppose the elder Links had the right idea when they changed the new Link look so drastically. He saved us all, not just once, but twice in just a few weeks."

"He really is amazing, isn't he?" Allstar Mario murmured and sighed, "Now, if we could just get Link to stop fainting every time someone tells him how great he is...."

The End


End file.
